Of Kings and Trash Mufasa and Taka
by Jagabor
Summary: My own story of the early lives of Ahadi's sons. My first story. Please read and review. Rated T for certain scenes. Final chapter up.
1. Prologue

_Hi. This is my first TLK fanfic on this site. I decided to start at the beginning with the early life of my favorate character,Scar(Taka), his brother,Mufasa,and other characters from Ahadi's reign as king. Just to let you know about the way that this will be written; 1) I am putting my own take on this story, although I might to use simularities from the books, movie, and/or musical. 2) I plan on sort of "making it up as I go along." 3) I'm not completely sure how many charaters I'll add that were not mentioned in TLK universe. If I decide to, I will state it at the begining of the chapter that character is introduced in. 4) Zhenga and Shakarri are my characters and are not to be used without my permission.Until further notice, all other charaters in this story belong to Disney,although I plan to change their characteristics a bit, and,as stated in 3, add new characters. Copyright infringement not intended. No that that is over, let's begin._

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Prolougue- Of Kings and Trash.

The night had been a long one for all the Pridelanders. It was finally here. The birth of a new heir was iminant. Ahadi, King of the Pridelands, paced back and forth in front of his den, where Queen Uru was nearing the end of her cub-birth. She cried out during a sudden burst of pain, to which Ahadi paid no attention. He was trapped in his own thoughts, speaking quietly to himself.

"Soon," Ahadi whispered to himself, "I will have an heir to my thrown. One I can mold, to rule as I have. Then, and only then, shall I be at peace."

Ahadi smiled calmly. He could see it now. As soon as his son was born, he would enter his den to see Uru, his queen, cradling the new prince. Ahadi had already picked the perfect name for his son. Mufasa. Mufasa would be perfect in all ways, a king to surpass all expectations. A son Ahadi could be proud of. A ruler respected by all others. Suddenly, a small blue hornbill appeared on Ahadi's shoulder,who, as it happened to be, was Zuzu, Ahadi's majordomo.

"Isn't it wonderful, sire?" Zuzu chirped. "In a matter of moments,you shall have a son or daughter to..."

"Daughter?" Ahadi interupted. "Oh no, Zuzu, I will have a son. There is simply no way that _my _first born could be a lioness."

"And just who are you to decide that,Ahadi?" retorted Zuzu, ruffling her feathers.

Ahadi quickly spun, knocking the small hornbill off his shoulder. He placed his paw on her back, pinning her to the ground.

"Insolent parrot!" He roared, " I am your king! You refer to me as sire, and sire only! Having a daughter would be unacceptable! I must have a son, to rule my kingdom after I am gone! My word is law! If I say that I shall have a son, I WILL HAVE A SON!"

"Forgive me,sire, I beg of you!" Zuzu cried,"I forgot my place. It won't happen again! I promise!"

Ahadi released Zuzu, who immediately crawled away a few feet and turned around to face Ahadi, breathing heavily. Ahadi stared at his paws, and then at the trembling hornbill. He calmed himself before speaking again.

" I am sorry, Zuzu. I'm just under a lot of pressure right now, with Uru in pain over the birth of my son...or...daughter." Ahadi seemed to have vommited that last word from the pit of his stomach. Zuzu smiled widely.

"Oh, that reminds me," Zuzu laughed, " I came to tell you that Uru has given birth already!"

"WHAT!?!?" Ahadi roared, and then tried to swipe at Zuzu, who flew off, laughing widely.

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Ahadi entered his den to see Uru smiling down at a bundle of fur in her paws. Ahadi walked over to her slowly, praying that it would not be a girl. He reached Uru and nuzzled her. Uru looked up at him, as she didn't even notice him come in. She raised her head, allowing Ahadi to see what she was smiling at. He looked down at a small, golden lion baby in her paws. Ahadi picked it up and drew it over to himself. It was indeed a male. Ahadi looked at it in awe. It was perfect in every way. Already Ahadi could see that it would grow up to be a wise, powerful king.

"Uru," Ahadi gasped," He is perfect!" Ahadi then smiled jokingly at Uru before saying, "But what do you expect? He is MY son!"

Uru laughed, and then smiled as she spoke. "Be careful, Ahadi. Your other son might get jealous."

"_Other _son?" Ahadi replied, before seeing something twich in Uru's paws. He walked over to Uru and looked closely. Sure enough, there was another cub. Ahadi simply hadn't noticed it because it blended in with Uru's dark fur almost perfectly. Ahadi picked up the cub and placed it in front of him. This cub did not please Ahadi at all. It was scrawny and weak, and could barely raise it's head. Ahadi looked upon it with disgust.

"Uru, we can't keep that one." Ahadi stated.

"What?" Uru gasped, jumping to her feet. "Of course we can! He's our son!"

"No, Uru," Ahadi sighed, "He cannot be my son. Look at him. He is not fit to be a prince. He's just not...right." At this, Uru leaped forward, grabbing the dark-furred cub in her mouth and carrying it to the other side of the den. She then turned back to Ahadi.

"How can you even say that?" she said with tears in her eyes,"Whether he's pleasing on your eyes shouldn't matter. He's your son. Why should it matter what he looks like? Besides, it isn't your choice whether he stays or goes." She licked the dark cub, and continued,"He's my son, and your not taking him away from me."

"Uru," Ahadi growled losing his patience, "I am king. Everything is my decision, and I can do anything I want. Try to see reason.We don't need him. We already have a son to become king.Besides, he will never be like the other cubs. You can tell that just by looking at him. He won't be able to keep up. We have to end his misery now."

Ahadi stepped over to Uru, and bent to grab the shivering cub. Uru immediately stepped between them and growled at Ahadi. Thus, began on of the rare events that Ahadi lost his temper with Uru.

"URU!" Ahadi roared, "IF YOU DON'T GET OUT OF MY WAY, I CAN'T BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU!"

Uru simply looked up at him and laughed sarcastically, growling, "Oooh, I quiver with fear!"

Ahadi stepped a few paces back. Even kings knew enough not to argue with their wives when they were this passionate about something.

"Fine," Ahadi growled, "But don't expect me to like him."

Uru smiled sweetely and rubbed against Ahadi. "I'm sure you will eventually," she said, "It just takes time."

Ahadi spit on the ground.

"Charming," Uru stated, picking up the golden cub and bringing him back to it's brother. Both cubs fell asleep in their mother's arms, peacefully purring.

"What should we call them?" Uru asked Ahadi happily.

Ahadi looked down on the two cubs. "Well, my son's name will be Mufasa," he stated pointing to the golden cub,"But your son shall be called Taka," Ahadi said coldly,"Because no matter how much you love him, no matter how much you defend him, he will always be "trash" in the eyes of everyone else!" Ahadi then slowly stepped out of his cave and fell asleep under the stars.

Tears streamed down Uru's face, still devastated by what Ahadi had said. She licked both her cubs lovingly.

"I'm sorry,Taka," she whispered to the dark-furred cub,"It will only get worse from here on out. Mufasa is the first born, so the right of becoming king is his. I fear that your father will never see past your appearence."

_Taka,_she thought to herself._ Yes, the name may stand for trash and dirt, but what is wrong with that? Even trash serves a purpose._Uru sighed. _Ahadi._ _In a perfect world__ you would see him as more than a scrawny cub. Your pride would see him as a leader. A superior. Maybe even, a king?_

Uru shook her head slowly.

_No. Mufasa shall become king. And there's nothing wrong with that. I just hope Taka will understand. It's not Taka's fault that he was born second._

Uru looked down at her cubs. "It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks,"she whispered to what was, according to Ahadi, _her _son," I love you, Taka."

Although she knew that Taka was to young to understand her, she noticed Taka smile, as if put at ease by his mothers words.

Uru then looked down at Mufasa, who was swatting air in his sleep. She reminded herself to give Mufasa attention, too. She spoke softly to the golden cub

"Tommorow, you will be presented as future king,"she said, trying to sound proud,"But that won't make you any less Taka's brother. Please look after him when you're both older. I'm sure he will repay the favor someday."

Two lionesses entered the cave, having heard the news of twins. They walked over and looked down at Uru's cubs. The one called Shakarri spoke up.

"Well," she started, "Which one is to be our future king?"

Uru smiled at them and pushed Mufasa in front of them.

"Just as well," Shakarri smiled," The other one looks like he'll be dead by the morning!"

Uru's smile faded as she looked down at her sleeping cub, hurt by Shakarri's words.

"Mother!" gasped the second lion,Zhenga,"How can you even say that! Have you no respect for anything?"

"Shut it, Zhenga," Shakarri retorted,"If the queen finds my comment unacceptable," Shakarri crouched down, baring her teeth at Uru,"Let's see her do something about it!"

Indeed the queen did do something. Uru lifted her paw and brought it down on Shakarri's skull, knocking her to the ground."

Shakarri quickly got up and ran out of the den in terror. Zhenga slowly stepped over to Uru and spoke.

"Please excuse my mother," Zhenga smiled, "She's kinda a bitch."

Uru returned the smile and brought Mufasa back to her and Taka. Zhenga began to exit the den before slowly turning around and speaking.

"For what it's worth, I think their wonderful cubs," Zhenga stated,"Both of them." Zhenga then leaped out of the cave and ran down to her mother.

Uru knew that Zhenga would be able to see Taka as something more than an object . Zhenga and her had always been close friends, despite the attitude of Shakarri. Uru knew that in a matter of days, Zhenga would have a cub of her own. Uru was sure that Zhenga's cub would be a good friend to her own.

"Good," Uru whispered to Taka, who was sound asleep,"That makes two lionesses that likes you."

Uru laughed before adding, "Now we just have to convince the rest otf the pride!"

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	2. No Rest for the Weary

No Rest for the Weary  


After a good night's sleep, Uru awoke and looked down at her new cubs,who had just been born the night before. She smiled down at them and began bathing them with her tongue. It was a great feeling for her, being a mother. Mufasa looked up at Uru and squeaked continuously. Taka soon followed suite.

_They must be hungry _Uru thought to herself. She then lied down sideways, allowing the the cubs to latch onto her and breast-feed. They suckled loudly. Uru liked the sound. It was strange, but there was something that seemed magical about it to her. And it was a lot better than the squeaking. _Anything_ was better than the squeaking. Uru was truly happy.

_Nothing can ruin this moment! _Uru thought to herself. Suddenly, Shakarri entered Uru's den. We_ll, almost nothing. _Uru corrected herself.

"Well, well, well." Shakarri laughed,"If it isn't her majesty and her royal brats!"

Uru remained calm and sat upright, pulling her cubs close to her.

"What do you want, Shakarri?" Uru said in an annoyed tone.

"What?" said Shakarri in mock innocence, "I need a reason to pay the Queen a visit? I'd think you'd be happy to have some company, after sleeping alone last night. I've never seen you and Ahadi so mad at each other, and over something so stupid as a mangy cub. You really should have been a better wife to Ahadi, and just disposed of that ugly thing."

Uru barred her teeth at Shakarri and growled, in utter disgust that Shakarri had spied on her and Ahadi last night.

Shakarri looked down at the two cubs behind Uru's front legs. She stared at Taka a few seconds before saying, "Oh, there it is. I'm surprised it lasted the night. Pity. I doubt it will last much longer, anyway."

Uru couldn't stand it anymore. She roared at Shakarri, and then regained her composer. Reminding herself not to do something she'd regret.

Shakarri backed off slightly and smiled.

"You should watch your temper, Uru," Shakarri said through barred teeth, "It could get you into a lot more trouble than you could handle."

Uru laughed at the fact that this older-than-dirt lioness was threatening her.

"Shakarri," Uru said calmly, "I'm giving you one last chance to just leave my den before you say something completely idiotic, and I kill you. You old, washed-up, pathetic, sniveling, cowardly piece of crap."

Shakarri advanced towards Uru with the intention of ripping Uru to shreds. Before Shakarri was in striking distance, Uru crouched down and glared at her, teeth barred and growling.

Maybe it was because Uru was just naturally intimidating. Maybe it was because Shakarri was a coward. It matters not why Shakarri turned tail and ran. All that matters is that she turned tail and ran, leaving Uru alone with her cubs.

"Coward," Uru laughed under her breath, and then turned her attention back yo her cubs, apologizing that they had to see that. Just then, there was a call at the entrance of her den.

"Do you mind if I come in for a visit?" said a familiar voice.

Uru smiled and called back, "Of course not, Zhenga, come on in."

Zhenga entered the den, dragging an antelope carcass. She sat down in front of Uru, smiling.

"I missed you last night," Zhenga laughed, "In all the time I've known you, I don't think you've ever stayed in during a midnight hunt."

"Well," Uru laughed, "My life is a bit different now." Uru nodded to the cubs.

"How are they?" Zhenga asked, pointing to the cubs.

"Good, good," Uru replied, giving her cubs an affectionate lick.

"And you?" asked Zhenga.

"Still a little tired, but I'll feel better after a good meal," replied Uru, yawning.

"Of, course," said Zhenga, tossing the carcass in front of Uru before adding, "I caught this one myself."

Uru gave Zhenga a worried look.

"Are you sure that you should be hunting this late in your pregnancy?" Uru asked.

"Don't worry," Zhenga stated, "I've been being careful. Now eat."

"I don't know Zhenga," said Uru, obviously concerned, "I think you need it more than I do."

"No, I've eaten already," replied Zhenga.

"But your eating for two, now," stated Uru, her concern for her friend not fading.

"And your eating this carcass, whether you like it or not," laughed Zhenga, "You need to eat. End of discussion."

"Fine, than," sighed Uru. Suddenly, Mufasa and Taka began to squeak.

"Speaking of lions who need to eat," smiled Uru.

Uru allowed the cubs to latch onto her again and draw milk from her. After both cubs latched on, Uru took a bite out of the antelope carcass.

"It's only a matter of time, now," Zhenga sighed happily, with her paw on her protruding belly, "Soon, I'll have a cub of my own. Another addition to my family!"

Uru smiled at Zhenga before replying, "Yes. While were on the subject of you family, your mother graced me with her presence."

Zhenga smiled.

" I figured as much," Zhenga laughed, "I saw her run down pride rock like a flamingo out of hell!"

Both friends laughed. Zhenga got up and looked out the exit of the den.

"I should probably go find her," Zhenga sighed, "She could hurt herself."

"Go ahead," Uru smiled, "We can talk again later."

Zhenga nodded and raced off. Although it was always nice to see Zhenga, Uru was glad to finally have peace and quiet with her cubs.

"QUEEN URU! QUEEN URU!" a loud voice called.

"Well," sighed Uru, "So much for peace."

The source of the voice entered Uru's den. It was Zuzu, fluttering around in a panic.

"What is it, Zuzu?" Uru asked, trying not to sound annoyed.

"It's King Ahadi," gasped Zuzu, finally receiving a chance to catch her breath, "He's asleep!"

Uru stared blankly at Uru for a few seconds, and then finally spoke,"So?"

Zuzu ruffled her feathers and glared at Uru.

"Have you forgotten?" Zuzu asked, "That today is the day that your son is to be presented as future king?"

Indeed Uru had forgotten. Although, who could blame her? With the arrival of two new cubs, she was too preoccupied to remember something like that. She almost forgot that she was part of a royal family, and that there is a ceremony for everything. Showing a newborn cub to the kingdom the day after it was born just didn't seem important to her.

"Hmm," replied Uru, "Must've slipped my mind."

Zuzu snorted and muttered something under her breath.

"So, what's the problem?" asked Uru.

Zuzu cleared her throat before replying. "The problem, your majesty, is that the king must be present at this ceremony, and his subjects are getting tired of waiting. If we don't wake him soon, we could have a riot on our hands. I tried waking him up myself,, but my voice wasn't loud enough to brake him from his slumber."

Uru found it hard to believe that there was anything Zuzu's obnoxious voice couldn't brake. Uru got up slowly.

"Zuzu," Uru whined, "Can't the cubs just stay in and enjoy their first day of life? I don't see why we must bother them for something so...trivial."

"Queen Uru!" Zuzu gasped in a state of shock, "How dare you call it trivial! You, being the queen, should know how important this is! Why, in all the time that lions have been around, no one has ever alloted not to present their cub as future king! You can't just go against tradition!"

Uru stretched, wondering why she seemed to get very little respect from her subjects.

"Fine," she sighed, "I'll go wake him up."

Uru picked up both of her cubs by the scruffs of their necks and went off to wake up Ahadi.

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Uru and Zuzu arrived at the Eastern side of Pride Rock, where Ahadi was sleeping. Uru put down her cubs next to Zuzu and bent over, placing her mouth next to Ahadi's ear.

"Sweety?" Uru cooed. Nothing happened.

"Ahadi?" she whispered a bit louder. Still nothing.

Uru decided that this was not going to work, so she tried a different approach.

"AHADI! THERE ARE HYENAS EVERYWHERE! THEY'RE ATTACKING THE PRIDELANDS!" Uru screeched in Ahadi's ear.

Ahadi immediately jumped up, pouncing around and roaring.

"WHERE ARE THEY? I'LL KILL THEM! I'LL RIP THERE THROATS OUT!' Ahadi roared, looking around for intruders.

Both Uru and Zuzu fell to the ground rolling with laughter. It took Ahadi a few seconds to figure out what had just taken place. He shot Zuzu a glare, and she immediately stopped laughing. It took Uru a little longer to calm herself.

"Do you think that was funny Uru?" Ahadi growled, "Making a fool out of your king?"

"Yes," Uru stated simply.

Ahadi rolled his eyes before speaking again.

"Well," he started, trying to sound calm "What is so important that you had to wake me up?"

"The presentation of the future king, sire," Zuzu responded with a smile, "Had you forgotten?"

"Ah...of course not!" said Ahadi trying to sound convincing, although he was not fooling anyone, "Now let's go!"

"Wait!" Zuzu chirped before Ahadi could walk off, "Which one is to be presented? Which is the first born?"

Ahadi stopped in his tracks. He had not had a chance to find out, with the argument that took place last night and all. He wondered which one was born first. He shuddered at the thought of Taka being born first. He prayed that it would be Mufasa who was the first born.

"Well?" Ahadi asked Uru nervously, "Which one was born first?"

Uru went over to her cubs and pushed Mufasa forward.

Ahadi leaped for joy, thankful that his son would become king.

"Oh, Mufasa, my boy!" Ahadi laughed while looking down at the golden cub in front of him, "I just knew that you would be the future king! It just goes to show how I'm always right!"

Ahadi shot a cruel smile at Uru, who was to busy grooming Taka to notice. Ahadi grumbled.

"We must go soon, sire," Zuzu squawked.

"Very well," Ahadi replied. He went over to pick up Mufasa, but then stopped and looked at Uru and Taka.

"Oh, and Uru?" Ahadi started.

"Yes?" Uru answered lovingly.

Ahadi glared down at Taka before speaking again.

"Make sure you keep that...thing out of sight. I don't want it even remotely visible during the ceremony."

Before Uru could argue, Ahadi picked up Mufasa and ran off. Uru looked down at Taka, trying not to cry.

Zuzu stared at Uru sadly.

"What are you going to do?" the small bird asked the queen.

Uru looked up at Zuzu and smiled.

"Well, me and this thing," Uru said, smiling down at Taka, "Are going to get some rest. Just because Ahadi and Mufasa can't have a peaceful day doesn't mean that we can't."

Zuzu smiled at Uru before flying off to join Ahadi. Uru picked up Taka and headed back to the den.

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Meanwhile, at the border of the Pridelands, a group of twelve hyenas gathered, preparing to invade.

"We're coming, you tyrant," growled that largest of the twelve under his breath, "And there's not a damn thing you can do about it!"

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End of Chapter. Thank you to all of you who reviewed my first story! Please let me know how this one is in comparison, as it would help me to better the story.

P.S. I'm sorry to those of you who wanted Mufasa and Taka to have larger roles in this chapter, but they are just babies now, and can't talk yet! I promise, they'll have a MUCH larger role in later chapters. Thanks for reading so far, I'll update as soon as I have time.


	3. Party Crashers

_Akida(Make), Ajia(Male), Asani(Male), Issa(Male), Kivuli(Male), Sauda(Female), Eruvu(Male), Jabari(Male), Thimba(Male), Kimondo(Male), Jozi(Male), Jozi(Female), Nyoni(Female) and Nbushe(Female) are all my characters and are not to be used by anyone else without my permission. Oh, and sorry in advance for any typos. The spellcheck is not working on the computer that I am using, but I really am trying. _

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Party Crashers

Uru entered her den and put Taka gently on the ground. She had told Zuzu that she was going to just go back to sleep, but how could she? Her own son, Mufasa, was to be presented to the kingdom, and she knew what Ahadi would do if she did not show up, but on the other paw, she could not leave Taka alone. He's only a baby. She paced back and forth, thinking to herself.

_What am I going to do? I can't miss the presentation of my own son. But I can't leave Taka alone in here. If only Ahadi wasn't so stubborn, and just let her bring Taka to the presentation. But no. Ahadi just has to have his own way._

Uru turned to the outside of the den. A strange feeling came over her. Something was not right about today. Uru shook her head and went back to thinking about her situation.

_I don't care what Ahadi wants! I'm going to just bring Taka anyway! What else can I do?_

Uru picked up Taka and headed out of the den. She looked around for Ahadi. Luckilly, he was nowhere to be found. Uru thought that she was home-free. That is, before a certain hornbill landed in front of her.

"Oh, hello my queen. I thought that you would be sleeping." Zuzu chirped, "I've come to tell you that by order of king Ahadi, you must be present during the presentation of the future king."

Uru placed Taka on the ground and rolled her eyes before replying.

"I intend to be present," Uru said bluntly, "Me and my son."

Zuzu looked up at Uru and smiled.

"I'm afraid that will not be possible," Zuzu stated, "King Ahadi also told me to inform you that if you even think of bringing Taka, he will see to it that Taka meets with an unfortunate accident after the ceremony."

Uru pounced on Zuzu, pinning the small bird to the ground.

"Listen you dodo!" Uru growled down at the hornbill, "I am bringing my son! My husband can take any problem he has with Taka, turn them sideways, and stick them strait up his abnormally large..."

"Please, my queen," Zuzu interupted, "Don't hurt the messenger!"

Uru calmed down and lifted her paws off of Zuzu.Zuzu dusted herself off and looked up at the queen with a frown.

"What do you expect?" Zuzu sighed, "You of all people should know how Ahadi feels about defiance of his orders. There is no doubt in my mind that if you bring Taka to the ceremony, your cub will not last much longer."

Uru barred her teeth down at the king's majordomo.

"Do you think that I can't handle my husband?" Uru asked in a passive agressive tone.

Zuzu shook, not believing the mess that she had gotten herself into.

"Well, I...um...that is to say..." Zuzu said, not sure exactly what to say.

Fortunately for Zuzu, a friend of the queen's came bounding up to them.

"Hi, Uru," Zhenga smiled, before looking down at the shivvering hornbill, "Am I interrupting something?"

"Not much," Uru said returning the smile, and then looking down at Zuzu "I was just about to have lunch!"

Zuzu laughed nevously, before flying away as fast as her wings could carry her. Uru shrugged and turned to Zhenga.

"How are you doing, Zhenga?" Uru asked.

"I'm doing fine," Zhenga replied, "And you?"

"Not so good," Uru sighed.

"What's wrong?" Zhenga asked with concern, stepping a bit closer to the queen, "I would have thought that you'd be happy. It is,after all, the day of Mufasa's presentation."

"That's part of the problem," Uru said, shaking her head, "Ahadi says that I have to be present during the ceremony but I cannot bring Taka. What am I supposed to do? I can't just leave Taka alone, but I also can't miss Mufasa's presentation."

Zhenga smiled at Uru, who was pacing back and forth.

"You could go to Mufasa's presentation, while I watch Taka for you," Zhenga suggested.

Uru stopped pacing and thought about what Zhenga's suggestion.

"I don't know," sighed Uru, thinking it over.

"Oh, come on," Zhenga groaned, "It could give me a chance to practice for when my cub comes."

"Hmmmm," Uru thought out loud.

"Please, Uru?" Zhenga pleaded. "I really need the practice."

"Well...Okay," Uru smiled.

"Yay!" Zhenga cheered, bouncing around like a happy cub.

Zhenga ran over to Taka and smiled down at him.

"Your going to come with aunty Zhenga for a while," Zhenga said in baby-talk,"Won't that be fun?"

Taka giggled. So did Uru.

"Well, I best be off before the ceremony starts," Uru sighed.

"Okay," Zhenga smiled, "Me and Taka will be in my den."

"Have fun, my little bundle of sweetness," Uru smiled down at Taka, giving him an affectionate lick, "And behave for aunty Zhenga."

With that, Uru ran off. Zhenga picked up Taka and carried him to her den, not knowing that she was beeing watched by two intruders, crouching behind a bush.

"Well, what do we have here, Jozi?" the male hyena, who was missing his left ear, asked the female hyena who was sitting next to him.

"I don't know, Jozi," replied the female hyena, who was missing her right ear, "But we should report it to Akida, just the same."

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Ahadi stood atop Priderock, looking down at all the animals who had gathered below him. Mufasa was next to him, fast asleep. Suddenly, Zuzu appeared next to him and bowed.

"Sire," Zuzu said formally, "I have just finished surveying the crowd, and almost the whole kingdom is here."

"Almost?" Ahadi asked the small hornbill, "Who is missing?"

"Well, I did not see Shakarri or Zhenga down there," Zuzu reported, "And, well, Uru was not in the crowd either."

Ahadi circled atop Priderock, shaking his haed and roaring.

"I swear," Ahadi roared, "When I get my claws on Uru, I'll..."

"You'll what?" asked a voice coming from behind the King and his majordomo.

Ahadi turned around to see Uru, licking her paw.

"Where have you been?" Ahadi growled at his wife, "You should have been here hours ago!"

"I'm here, aren't I?" Uru purred.

Ahadi snorted before speaking again.

"Zuzu tells me that you were with Zhenga earlier," the king stated, "Where is she now?"

"Watching our other son," Uru replied.

"Mufasa is my one and only son," Ahadi growled, "I have no other son."

"What ever you say, Mr. Grumpy," Uru smiled at Ahadi.

"Zhenga should be here!" Ahadi roared, "She has no right to miss this ceremony!"

"Well, as queen, I gave her the right," said Uru, licking her paw, "Is that a problem?"

Ahadi grumbled, deciding to just let it go. He then smiled at his wife.

"Nevermind," he said lovingly, rubbing against Uru, "All that matters is that my beautiful wife is here."

Uru purred and stood up. The two lions started necking. It would have been a very romantic moment, if Zuzu had not ruined it.

"Sire," Zuzu squauked, "It is getting quite dark. We should begin."

"Fine," Ahadi groaned, rolling his eyes, "Let us begin."

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Meanwhile, Zhenga was grooming Taka in her den.

"You really are wonderful, prince Taka," Zhenga smiled, looking down at the small cub, "I hope that my cub turns out to be just like you!"

Suddenly, two voices came from outside Zhenga's den.

"Well, well, well, Jozi," the first voice laughed, "Did you hear that? She called that cub a prince!"

"Y'don't say?" replied the second voice, laughing, "Well, if it is a prince, than why is it not at the presentation? We'll just have to get to the bottom of this!"

Zhenga watched in horror as two hyenas entered her den. Zhenga got up, barred her teeth, and growled at them.

"Get out!" Zhenga roared, " You're not welcome here. I have half a mind to rip your throats out!"

"Easy, kitty," the male Jozi snickered, "You're in no position to be making threats!"

Zhenga roared and pounced forward, pinning both hyenas to the den wall.

"Actually," Zhenga snarled, "I think I am!"

Zhenga extended her claws and raised her paw up high, preparing to strike.

"I would'nt do that, if I were you," said a cold, raspy voice, coming from behind Zhenga.

Zhenga turned her head to see a third hyena with its left paw on Taka. There was something different about this hyena. It was black as night, which was most likely how it snuck in undetected.

"Great timing, Kivuli!" the female Jozi smiled.

"Let them go," Kivulu said casually to Zhenga, "Unless you want this cub to become an unfortunate victim of the Circle of Life!"

Zhenga slowly released the two hyenas and stepped slowly over to the black hyena.

"Let Taka go!" Zhenga roared.

"I'm afraid that I cannot do that," said Kivuli, giving Zhenga a toothy smile, "I need some leverage over you for now. Just incase you get any more ideas of ripping our throats out!"

Zhenga growled and hung her head, knowing that she was beaten.

------------------------------------------------------------

Back atop Priderock, Mufasa's presentation was begining. All the animals gathered beneath Priderock, preparing to see their future king.

"Can we just get this over with?" Uru groaned, "I need to get some sleep!"

Ahadi smiled at his mate.

"We're almost ready, Uru," Ahadi said, breaking a fruit over Mufasa so that the small cub was covered on juices, "There we go!"

"I will never understand that custom," Uru said, rolling her eyes.

"To be completely honest, I don't think I ever will, either!" Ahadi smiled at his mate.

Mufasa squeaked.

"We better get started," Ahadi laughed, looking down at his son.

Ahadi picked Mufasa up and walked over to the edge of Priderock, along with Uru and Zuzu. All the animals below cheered upon seeing their king. Ahadi stood on his hind legs with Mufasa in his mouth, allowing the whole kingdom to see their future king through the darkness. The animals cheered even louder, and then bowed to their future king. Ahadi and Uru were beaming with pride. That was, until a scream came from behind them. The king and queen turned to see Zuzu, pinned to the ground by a hyena. Behind this hyena, eight more hyenas stood, barring their teeth and snarling.

The kingdom below stood in shock upon seeing the hyenas.

"Well hello, your majesty," the hyena in the front laughed.

After placing Mufasa on the ground Ahadi and Uru roared and prepared to pounce.

"Now is that anyway to great an old friend?" the hyena in the front frowned.

Ahadi stood up, having realized who this hyena is.

"Akida," Ahadi snarled, " Only you would be so bold as to interrupt my son's presentation! I'll kill you!"

"No," laughed Akida, "You won't."

With that, a vulture swooped down behind the king and queen andf snatched Mufasa, bringing him over to the group of hyenas.

"Good work, Nyoni," Akida said smiling at the vulture.

The vuture merely nodded and screeched.

"NO!" Ahadi roared after seeing his son snatched, "Release him at once!"

"Calm down, Ahadi," Akida laughed, "We won't hurt him. That is, unless, you don't meet with our demands."

"What do you want?" Ahadi snarled, in anger that he was at these hyenas' mercy.

"Just to talk," Akida replied with a smile, "About our triumohant return to the Pridelands. Shall we go to your den, then?"

Ahadi growled, not believing the nerve of this hyena.

"Fine," Ahadi said, "But if you so much as harm a hair on my son's head, or hurt Zuzu, for that matter, I will have no qualms about killing you all!"

"Wouldn't dream of it!" Akida laughed. He then stood at the edge of Priderock and addressed the animals below.

"Listen up, Pridelanders!" Akida called down to the kingdom, "If any of you try to play the hero, the royal family will end up hyena-chow!"

Akida turned to the other hyenas and took command.

"Ajia," Akida called to the smallest hyena, "You and Eruvu patrol look after our friends down there. Make sure nobody tries anything."

"Yes, sir!" both hyenas replied before charging down Priderock.

"Thimba," Akida called to a scar-covered hyena, "As soon as the royal family and I are in the den, you and Jabari stand guard, just in case Ajia and Eruvu fail."

"It would be my pleasure, sir," Thimba smiled, secretly hoping that someone _would _show up, just so that he could tear them apart.

"Of course, sir," added Jabari, who was having the same thoughts as Thimba.

"Issa, Asani," Akida called to two of the hyenas, "Go survey the Pridelands for any strays. We can't afford any sneak attacks."

"As you wish, sir," Issa said quietly before running down Priderock.

"Why should I?" Asani snorted.

Akida responded by snapping at Asani, who ran down Priderock as fast as he could.

"Kimondo," Akida sighed at a hyena who had a nervous expression, "You run back home and inform Nbushe that our infiltration was successful. And at least try not to mess this up."

"Yes, sir," said the hyena sadly, before running towards the bottom of Priderock, tripping on a stone, and tumbling all the way to the ground.

Akida groaned and shook his head at Kimondo's stupidity, and then turned to the final hyena.

"Sauda, my love," Akida said sweetly, "I think it would be best if you take the cub and come with me."

"Yes, Akida," the female hyena said quietly, "You always know what is best."

Nyoni flapped her wings and screech loudly.

"You?" Akida asked the vulture, "Well, I suppose you could just circle Priderock and make sure that everyone is doing their job."

With that, the large vulture took off.

Akida turned his attention back to the king and queen, while Sauda picked up Mufasa gently. Akida smirked at Ahadi and laughed. Ahadi snarled, upset that had to summit to a hyena. Uru looked up at the sky with tears in her eyes.

"Oh, Taka," Uru whispered to herself, "Please be alright!"

Akida stepped over to Ahadi and smiled, barring every tooth that he had.

"Shall we begin?"


	4. A Simple Request

_Sorry if this chapter gets a bit frustrating, for it switches back and forth between scenes. Enjoy! P.S. Sorry again for any typos! No spellcheck, y'know!  
_

A Simple Request

"What is it you want with me, anyway?" Zhenga growled at the Kivuli.

Kivuli brought his paw off of Taka and smiled.

"Not to worry," Kivuli smirked, "This has nothing to do with you or this cub. I'm just following orders, like the loyal hyena I am!"

"And your orders would be?" Zhenga asked before standing up.

Kivuli sneered and replied, "My orders to kill.."

The two hyenas with missing ears jumped inbetween the lioness and the black hyena before Kivuli could finish.

"None of your business!" the male Jozi snapped at Zhenga.

"Are you crazy?" the female Jozi snapped at Kivuli, "You know very well what Akida told you! If you even mention our mission to anyone, he'll have you as a meal, and use your skin for a napkin!"

Kivuli smiled at the two Jozi.

"I'd like to see him try!" Kivuli laughed.

"Oh, come on!" the male Jozi said, scratching behind his only ear, "Sure, you're a pretty good asassin, but do you really think that you could take down Akida?"

"You still doubt my skills?" Kivuli cackled, "You of all hyenas should know what happens to those who doubt me. Or have you forgotten about what happened to Mohatu?"

Zhenga's eyes widened.

"Shut it, buzzard-brain!" the female Jozi growled at Kivuli after wacking him on the snout, "Are you trying to get us killed? We agreed to never talk about...him again! It's too dangerous!"

Kivuli jumped on the female Jozi and snapped at her. The two rolled around, snarling and fighting with eachother. The male Jozi jumped in to save his sister, but was dragged into the scuffle himself. Zhenga stared blankly, thinking to herself.

_Mohatu? What happened to Mohatu? I thought he died of old age. Could these hyenas have actually killed him? How?_

Zhenga shook her head, banishing anymore thoughts of Mohatu's fate. She turned to the hyenas, who were still fighting on the ground and snarling at eachother.

"Ahem," Zhenga said, clearing her throat to get the hyena's attention.

The remained fighting and snarling.

Zhenga went over to Taka and picked him up. She then ran out of the den with him in her mouth while the hyenas were busy fighting.

"Idiots," Zhenga muttered to herself.

The hyenas eventually stopped fighting and looked around for Zhenga, who was nowhere to be found. Kivuli groaned while shaking his head. Both the male and female Jozi looked at eachother.

"Where did she go, Jozi?" they both asked eachother in unison.

---------------------------------------------

Ahadi paced in his den while staring at the two hyenas before him. Uru was at his side, staring at nothing but Mufasa, who was trapped in the female hyena's jaws. Luckily, Zuzu had been released because the hyena's knew that there was nothing the hornbill could do, anyway.

"Well," Akida smiled at the king, "Quite a place you've got here!"

"Cut the crap, you worm!" Ahadi roared, "What the hell is it that you want!"

"I told you already, you silly kitty," Akida laughed, "I just want to talk!"

"Fine,then," Ahadi sighed, "We can talk. But I demand that you release my son!"

"I'll listen to your demands after you listen to mine!" Akida snorted.

Ahadi roared and slashed at a stone at his feet, sending it flying outside of the den. The two hyenas who were guarding the entrance turned around and snarled.

"Everything's fine in here, boys," Akida called to them.

"Pity," Thimba stated before turning around, "I'm getting bored."

Sauda put Mufasa down in front of her paws. She noticed Uru, who watched her closely as she did so.

"Ummm, Akida?" Sauda asked quietly, "Can me and the queen go to a differant den?"

Akida looked down at her, knowing how hard this must be for her. She, too, had seen her child taken hostage by hyenas. Akida knew that eventually this situation would become too hard for Sauda to handle.

"Of course, my sweet," Akida smiled at his mate, "Just be careful."

Sauda picked up Mufasa and walked over to Uru. Ahadi jumped up and roared.

"No!" Ahadi growled, "My mate stays with me!"

"Not if you want your cub to survive, she doesn't!" Akida laughed.

Uru walked over to Ahadi and rubbed against him.

"I'll be alright," Uru reassured him, "Just do as he says, for now."

Ahadi sighed and nodded. Sauda lead Uru outside of the den. The two guards snarled and snapped at the queen, earning a smack in their faces, coutesy of Sauda. Ahadi turned his attention back to the hyena in front of him.

"Now, what is this all about?" Ahadi growled at Akida.

"Well, as you are probalbly aware,_sire_ " Akida said stated,laughing as he said the last word, "Hyenas used to live in the Pridelands, where there was plenty of food for all of us. Hyenas now live outside the Pridelands, in a place where they are lucky to find even one mouse each week. And do you know why? Of course you do! All because of one hyena who betrayed your kingdom. But why did you banish us all? We had nothing to do with him, you stereotypical bastard!"

"You had nothing to do with him, you say?" Ahadi laughed, "If I'm not mistaken, you were his son! You must have known, but you did nothing!You allowed him to kill almost the whole kingdom!"

"I wasn't in charge back then," Akida snapped at the king, "He was! And if I had spoken out against him, he would have torn me apart! Trust me. If I could have done anything to stop him, I would have!"

"Why should I trust you, you damn coward!" Ahadi retorted.

"Because if you don't, both you and your sons will join Mohatu a little early!" Akida growled back.

Ahadi jumped at Akida and pinned him to the wall, with both paws on his throat. Both hyenas on the outside of the den came charging in. Ahadi released Akida and stepped back, keeping his eyes on the three hyenas.

"Ahadi, you fool!" Akida growled with his paw on his neck, "Do you think I'm bluffing? One more outburst like that, and the whole kingdom will join Mohatu! Do I make myself clear?"

Ahadi sighed and nodded.

"So, get on with it," Ahadi growled, "What do you want?"

Akida dismissed the two other hyenas and brought his attention back to Ahadi, pacing back and forth, smiling at the king.

"Isn't it obvious?" Akida laughed, "We want to be pardoned, and return to the Pridelands!"

"Out of the question!" Ahadi boomed.

"Look," Akida sighed, shaking his head, "We aren't asking for much. Just a place to stay and hunt. Please Ahadi. We're starving!"

"I SAID NO!" Ahadi boomed even louder.

"Look," Akida growled, losing his patience, "It isn't like you have a choice! Or have you forgotten your family?"

Ahadi roared and circled around.

"You will pay for this!" Ahadi growled at Akida.

"Please," Akida laughed, "Put it on my tab!"

---------------------------------------------

Sauda took Uru to another den and put Mufasa down. Uru stared from her cub to the hyena.

"So why do you want me alone?" Uru asked asked Sauda with a sigh.

"To give you this," Sauda smiled, pushing Mufasa over to Uru, "I believe he is yours."

Uru picked up Mufasa and carried him back over to where she was sitting, staring at Sauda in confusion.

"Why would you give me back my cub?" Uru asked, confused with the hyena's behavior, "Don't you need him for a hostage?"

"As far as your mate knows," Sauda smiled, "He still is a hostage! Besides, I can't just separate a cub from its mother. That would just be barbaric!"

"So what is stopping me from just leaving?" Uru asked while smiling, "I mean, there is just one of you, no guards, and I have my cub!"

"I did you a favor," Sauda replied, "I would ask that you return the favor and just stay here for now."

"You are a very reasonable hyena," Uru smiled, "But you cannot just expect me to stay here while my kingdom is under attack."

"Please," Sauda begged, "Just stay here for now."

"I'm sorry," Uru sighed, "But I can't stay here while your mate is threatening mine. Please try to understand my position."

"Try to understand mine," Sauda replied, "If Akida finds out that I let you go, he'll kill me!"

Uru's eyes widened as she turned to the hyena.

"But he's your mate," Uru stated, "Why would he cause you any harm?"

"He doesn't care who you are," Sauda replied, with tears in her eyes, "He doesn't care that I'm not against him, he doesn't care that I'm his mate, he doesn't even care that I'm his monarch."

Uru's ears pricked up.

"Oh. Just forget that last part," Sauda corrected herself.

"I don't believe this!" Uru said in shock, "Your in charge of this whole thing, aren't you?"

Sauda nodded sadly.

"Please, don't be angry," Sauda pleaded, "After so long, you get tired of a life of poverty and starvation."

"So you held my cubs hostage?" Uru growled, "What kind of sick creature are you?"

"No, please," Sauda cried, "That part was Akida's idea. I suggested that we just go talk to you and your mate, but Akida said that lions would be to stupid to understand reason."

Uru got up and shook her head at the hyena queen before picking up Mufasa and turning to the den exit.

"I'm going to go find my other cub" Uru mumbled with Mufasa in her mouth.

"Please don't!" Sauda wailed, "If one of other hyenas see you, a war will brake out! I don't want anymore bloodshed! I just wanted a fair life for my subjects!"

Uru was beginning to feel sorry for this hyena. She put Mufasa down and walked back to Sauda, patting the sobbing hyena on the back.

"There, there," Uru said to the hyena softly, "I understand. But I need to find my other cub. Before something happens to him. He's barely a day old, and can't last long without me."

Sauda looked up at the queen lion and smiled slightly.

"May I go get your other cub for you?" Sauda asked through her remaining tears, "I promise I'll be careful with it. Besides the other hyenas wouldn't give me any trouble."

Uru thought it over before smiling down at Sauda.

"Of course," Uru laughed, "I'll wait here until you return."

Sauda smiled and ran towards the den exit.

"Oh, and by the way, Sauda," Uru called before the hyena had exited the den.

"Yes?" Sauda called back.

"If it were up to me, all hyenas like you could live in the Pridelands," Uru smiled.

"Thank you, my queen," Sauda smiled back, before running off to retrieve Taka.

"Unfortunately," Uru muttered to herself sadly, "It's not up to me."

-------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, Ahadi was pacing in his den, glaring at Akida.

"So what is it going to be, Ahadi?" the hyena cackled, "Will you let all your loved ones die because of your injustice to my kind, or will you make the right choice, and just us return to what is rightfully our home?"

Ahadi hung his head and grumbled. He was about to submit to the hyena's demands, when suddenly Nyoni flew into the den and landed next to Akida. Nyoni squaked and screech while waving both wings.

"What?" Akida gasped, obviously shocked by whatever the vulture said, "How could this happen? I just knew that they'd find a way to mess this up! Nyoni, go and find every one of my hyenas around here and tell them to follow me!"

Akida turned his attention back to Ahadi and snarled.

"You're coming with me!" Akida barked, "It seems that we have a runaway lioness!"

Ahadi got up quickly.

_Could Uru have escaped? Would she really put everyone in danger like that? Oh, Uru! Please be safe!_

----------------------------------------------------------------

Uru lied down with Mufasa in her paws. She groomed the golden cub with her tongue, all the while thinking of Sauda.

_Poor thing! She must have to put up with a lot from her brute of a mate! I can relate. She really is a good creature. I hope Ahadi will let her and her friends stay! She would make such a good friend!_

Suddenly, Uru heard something coming into the den. She thought that it was probalbly just Sauda returning. But, just to be safe, she got up and called out.

"Who's there?" Uru called.

"U... Uru?" a familiar voice called back weakly.

Uru immediately jumped forward after hearing the voice.

"Zhenga? Zhenga, is that you?" Uru asked.

Uru's question was answered as the lioness walked in with Taka in her mouth.

"Zhenga!" Uru shouted with joy, "Thank the heavens your alright!"

Then Uru got a closer look, seeing that Zhenga was anything but alright. Zhenga was covered in cuts and bruises!

"Zhenga, what happened?" Uru asked, upset to see her best friend in this sort of condition.

Zhenga put Taka down and colapsed on the den floor.

"That damn vulture, that's what happened!" Zhenga growled, "I was almost in the clear, when suddenly that winged-rat set upon me!"

"Are you okay, Zhenga?" Uru asked in concern for her friend.

"I'm fine, but..." Zhenga started.

"But what?" Asked Uru, as she sat beside her downed friend.

"It's time," Zhenga replied.

"Time for what?" Uru asked in confusion.

Zhenga rolled her eyes and smiled slightly.

"Time for the cub," Zhenga laughed.

"Oh...Oh," was all that Uru could say in response.

"Just great," Zhenga sighed, "Now of all times."

"It'll be alright," Uru smiled, trying to sound convincing.

"Really?" Zhenga asked sarcastically, "You don't think it will mind being born during an invasion? Well, that's a load off my mind!"

Uru wanted to laugh. She really did. But it was hard to make light of their situation. Suddenly, Mufasa and Taka began to squeak.

"Speaking of cubs," Zhenga smiled.

Uru smiled down at her friend and picked up Taka, placing him next to Mufasa, allowing them both to draw milk from her.

"...What does it feel like?" Zhenga asked curiously.

"Giving birth?" Uru asked, surprised at the question, "Well, it's excruciatingly painful and.."

"No not that!" Zhenga laughed, cutting Uru off, "But, really, thanks for giving me something to look forward to! No, I meant was does it feel like having your cubs draw milk from you?"

"Well," Uru started, thinking it over, "It does hurt a bit, but it gives me this amazing feeling. I can't really describe it."

Zhenga roared out in pain.

"Here...we...go!" Zhenga said through her contractions.

"Don't worry, Zhenga!" Uru said, a bit concerned, "You'll be fine. Just breathe!"

Zhenga did as she was instructed, breathing in and out.

"Now push!" Uru shouted to her friend, almost shaking off the two cubs attached to her in the process.

Zhenga did as she was instructed again. Before long, Zhenga had forced the cub out of her. It started to squirm on the ground.

"Well done!" Uru laughed, overjoyed at how well Zhenga handled the situation.

"...Tha...thanks," Zhenga sighed, rolling over and cleaning her new cub with her tongue.

"Well," Uru smiled down at her friend, "How do you feel?"

"You were right, Uru," Zhenga replied.

"About that amazing feeling?" Uru asked happily.

"Well, yes," Zhenga smiled, "But I meant the part about it being excruciatingly painful!"

The two friends laughed.

"Is it a boy, or a girl?" Uru asked Zhenga.

"A girl," said Zhenga proudly.

"Well, that's wonderful!" smiled Uru, nodding, "So what's her name?"

"Well," Zhenga smiled, "I was thinking of calling her.."

Their conversation was interupted by th cackle of a group of hyenas.

"Well, what have we here, Jozi? one of them laughed.

"Seems like we found the escaped prisoner, Jozi!" another one replied.

Eleven hyenas, along with Nyoni and Ahadi, entered the den.

"Uru!" Ahadi gasped, "You're alright!"

"Not for long, she ain't!" Akida cackled, advancing toward the two lionesses.

Uru looked at Sauda, who smiled at her slightly after seeing that both cubs were safe.

"Who the hell do you two think you are?" Akida snarled at the lionesses, "You put your entire kingdom at risk by snaking away!"

"Akida," Sauda said softly, "I don't think that the queen was.."

Sauda was cut off by a paw to the face from Akida, sending her strait into the den wall.

"Silence!" Akida snarled at his mate, "You speak only when spoken to!"

Uru stifled the urge to rip Akida's throat out for his abusive behavior toward such a kind creature. Sauda got up slowly and nodded with tears in her eyes. Akida turned back to the lionesses, noticing the small cub in Zhenga's paws. He snatched it from her and tossed it over to the group of hyenas.

"No!" Zhenga cried.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" Ahadi growled at Akida.

"She ran away," Akida replied, "And now she must pay the price!"

Ahadi advanced toward Akida and swiped, but Akida dodged.

"Do that again," Akida smirked, "And your cubs will join this one!"

Ahadi hung his head, knowing that there was nothing he could do.

Nine hyenas circled the newborn cub, preparing to strike on Akida's command. The tenth hyena, Sauda walked over to Akida and sobbed.

"Please, Akida!" she cried, "Spare the cub! It has nothing to do with this!"

Akida struck Sauda down again.

"What did I just tell you about speaking out of turn?" Akida growled at Sauda.

Sauda looked up at Uru, who looked back at her and shook her head sadly.

"Sauda's right, fleabag!" Uru growled at Akida, "Killing Zhenga's cub will not solve any of your problems!"

"Shut you damn trap!" Akida snarled at the queen, "Your friend broke my rules, and now she must suffer the consequences!"

Zhenga was balling her eyes out, just thinking about what was going to happen to her cub. Sauda stood up and glared at Akida.

"No!" Sauda growled at her mate, "You will not have this cub killed!"

"Excuse me?" Akida gasped, shocked at his mate's boldness.

"You will not have this cub killed!" Sauda growled a bit louder than before.

"How dare you speak to me like that!" Akida snarled, charging at Sauda.

Sauda jumped on Akida before he pounced, pinning him to the ground.

"I am your queen!" she snarled down at him, "What I say goes! And when I say that the cub will be spared, I mean that the cub will be spared, or you'll meet your maker!"

"All this for a filthy lion cub!" Akida laughed, still unable to get Sauda off of him.

"Do not speak of lions that way!" Sauda howled, "Lions are noble! Lions are kind! Lions are our friends! Do I make myself clear?"

Akida nodded, trying to stop tears from flowing out of his eyes. Sauda got off of him and turned her attention to the nine other hyenas.

"As for you," Sauda snarled at the group of hyenas, "Step away from the cub!"

The nine hyenas did as they where told and hung their heads. Sauda picked up the cub and brought it back to Zhenga, who held it close to her, shaking.

"Now," Sauda said calmly, addressing everyone in the den, "We are all going to leave the new mother be, go outside, and negociate. And I mean _negociate_. No hostages. No death-threats. Just negociation!"

Everyone in the den nodded, even Ahadi and Akida. They all headed outside, except Uru, who was asking Zhenga if she would be alright alone. Zhenga nodded, and Uru picked up her cubs and headed for the exit. As she passed by Sauda, Uru smiled at the hyena, proud that Sauda had stood up for herself. Sauda returned the smile and followed Uru outside the den. The group went up to the top of Priderock to negociate. After a couple of hours, they were joined by Zuzu.

"Where have you been?" Ahadi asked his majordomo.

"Just waiting for everything to boil over," the small hornbill replied, "But I've come back to hear your judgement."

Ahadi sighed.

"Well, even though these hyenas did go completely overboard, they've given me their word that they will never do something like that again," Ahadi sighed as all the hyenas nodded, "In return, they may stay with us in the Pridelands."

All of the hyenas jumped for joy and thanked Ahadi except Akida, who just grumbled.

"Don't you think you should say thank you to king Ahadi, boss?" Thimba suggestd.

Akida spat on the ground.

"Akida!" Sauda snarled, advancing toward her mate.

"Alright, alright!" Akida said, backing away from Sauda before turning to Ahadi, "Thank you, my king."

Ahadi pretended to ignore him.

"Ahadi!" Uru growled.

"Oh, well yes," Ahadi said to Akida quickly, "Of course your welcome."

Cheers rang throughout the Pridelands. That is, until they heard a scream of pain coming from the den that Zhenga was in. The royal family, the hyenas, Zuzu, and Nyoni bolted down to the den to see what the scream was about. They all stepped inside the den and looked around, not prepared for what they would see next.

There, on the cold den floor, Zhenga lay dead, with gashes all over her body. Her newborn cub clung to her, squeaking.

"ZHENGA!" Uru cried, shaking Zhenga's frozen body, "ZHENGA, PLEASE DON'T BE DEAD!"

But it was no use. Zhenga was gone. And she would never return. Everyone in the den was sobbing, even the hyenas and Nyoni. Ahadi turned to the hyenas and growled.

"YOU!" Ahadi roared in grief, "YOU WERE BEHIND THIS, WEREN'T YOU?"

"No," replied Akida, shaking and backing away from Ahadi, "Please we had nothing to do with.."

"LIAR!" Ahadi roared before swinging his claws at Akida.

Nyoni and the hyenas bolted out of the den with Ahadi on their tails. They all scattered in different directions. Sauda made the unfortunate mistake of running to the top of Priderock. Ahadi followed her. He caught up with her and roared.

"Please believe me," Sauda pleaded, "We would never do anything like that!"

"WHY SHOULD I BELIEVE YOU, AFTER WHAT YOU'VE DONE!" Ahadi roared at the queen hyena, before stating coldly, "You were in charge of this the whole time. So it is only fitting that you should die!"

Ahadi moved closer to Sauda, who stepped back all the way to the edge of Priderock.

"Please, no." Sauda sobbed, but it was too late.

Ahadi slashed Sauda with his claws, forcing her off of Priderock. As she plummeted to the ground below, the whole kingdom scattered.

Akida walked over to Sauda and held her face with his paw, before crying out.

"SHE'S DEAD!" Akida cried, looking up at Ahadi from below Priderock, "YOU MURDERER! YOU KILLED MY SAUDA! YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!"

"Please," Ahadi laughed, "Put it on my tab!"

Akida snarled up at the king, as did the rest of his hyena's, and even Nyoni.

"Oh, and by the way," Ahadi said plainly, "I changed my mind. You are to b banished for eternity! And if you ever come back, I'LL KILL YOU!"

Akida sobbed over Sauda and turned toward the Elephant Graveyard. He ran as fast as he could, fearing that there might be other Pridelanders nearby who would kill him on the spot. The two Jozi grabbed their queens back legs and dragged her home, followed by the rest of their group.

Back in the den, Uru was sobbing over Zhenga's body. Uru picked up the small cub and held it close to her, along with Mufasa and Taka. Suddenly, a lioness entered the den with a zebra in her jaws. When she saw Zhenga's body, she dropped the zebra and jumped over to th dead lioness.

"What happened to you?" the lioness said cried quietly over Zhenga.

"She was murdered, Shakarri," Uru said sadly, "But her cub survived."

Uru placed the cub in front of Shakarri. Shakarri stared at the cub, and then stared at Uru.

"Murdered?" Shakarri sobbed, "by who?"

"I...I don't know, Shakarri," Uru replied, fighting back tears.

Shakarri paused before extending her claws.

"IT WAS YOU, WASN'T IT?" Shakarri roared at Uru.

"What?" Uru asked in complete shock, "No...we just found her here and.."

"AND YOU KILLED HER!" Shakarri roared before knocking Uru to the ground with a strike of her claws.

Uru picked up Mufasa and Taka quickly before rushing out of the den.

"MARK MY WORDS, URU!" Shakarri called out to her, "YOU WILL SUFFER GREATLY FOR THIS! I MAY BE TOO OLD  
TO DO IT MYSELF, BUT THIS CUB WILL KILL YOU ONE DAY! I SHALL GIVE HER A NAME THAT MATCHES MY FEELINGS TOWARDS YOU! FROM THIS DAY FORTH, THIS CUB WILL BE KNOWN AS ZIRA!"

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Read and review


	5. A New Friend

_Hey. Well, some time has passed between my last chapter and this one, and the two princes are growing up. At this point, they are about cub-Simba's age, maybe a bit younger. Again, Forgive the typo's. Guedado is my character and is not to be used without my permission. sorry for the slow parts,as this chapter is just to set up for later adventures. But that doesn't make it any less essential to the story. Please read and review._

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A New Friend

"Get up, lazy tail!" Mufasa called in his brother's ear before shaking him back and forth.

Taka opened one eye and looked around, seeing Mufasa standing over him. Taka then rolled to his paws and got up with a yawn.

"What's up?" Taka asked his brother before yawning a second time.

"I'm bored," Mufasa explained, "And dad is still asleep."

Taka rolled his eyes and collapsed on the ground.

"Then," Taka stated, yawning a third time, "You should wake him up."

Mufasa smiled and pounced on his brother.

"Ooof!" Taka blurted out, "Get off, Mufasa."

"Come on, Taka," Mufasa laughed, gnawing on his brother's ear, "Let's do something! Please?"

"Can't you wait until dawn?" Taka groaned.

Mufasa got off of Taka and spoke in his most formal voice.

"Very well, Taka," Mufasa stated, "You leave me no choice. As future king, I order you to wake up and play with me!"

Taka propped himself up and gave Mufasa a mischievous smile before pouncing on him. He pinned Mufasa to the ground and whispered into his ear.

"Very well_, your highness_!" Taka laughed.

Mufasa pushed Taka off of him and pounced onto his brother's back. Taka bucked, trying to shake Mufasa off. Taka then got an idea. With Mufasa on his back, Taka ran toward the den wall as fast as he could and stopped suddenly, sending Mufasa face first into a rock.

"Ouch!" Mufasa cried out in pain.

Taka fell on the den floor, laughing.

"And just what's so funny?" said a voice coming from behind Taka.

Taka looked up to see Uru, with sleep in her eyes.

"Oh...good morning, mother," Taka smiled nervously.

"Yeah, good morning," Uru yawned, smiling down at her cubs.

"Mom," Mufasa whined, "Taka tossed me into the wall!"

Uru looked down at Taka in shock

"Taka!" she gasped, "Is this true?"

"Um...well...yeah," Taka admitted, "But it was an accident."

"No it wasn't!" Mufasa growled at Taka.

"Yes it was!" Taka growled back.

The two brothers argued back and forth.

"Wasn't!"

"Was!"

"Wasn't"

"Was!"

Uru rolled her eyes and groaned.

"Enough!" Uru sighed quietly, "Do you want to wake the whole kingdom up?"

"Sorry, mom," both cubs said in unison.

"Now, Taka," Uru smiled at the dark-furred cub, "Why don't you just apologize to Mufasa?"

"But.." Taka started before Uru cut him off.

"Do as your told, Taka," Uru said sweetly.

"Yes, mother," Taka obeyed, turning to Mufasa, "Mufasa...I'm sorry that I accidentaly made you crash into the den wall."

"That's okay, Taka," Mufasa smiled triumphantly.

"That's better," Uru smiled, "Isn't it much nicer when we just get along?"

"Yes, mother," the two brothers replied in unison.

Uru yawned, giving both cubs the chance to stick there tongues out at eachother.

"Why are you up so early, anyway?" Uru asked her cubs.

"Mufy woke me up," Taka yawned.

Uru looked over at Mufasa.

"And why would you do something like that?" Uru asked her golden-furred son.

"I was bored,and.." Mufasa began before pausing for a yawn, "I just wanted to play with Taka before dad gets up to show me the kingdom."

"I see," Uru yawned, "You two shouldn't play in here. You might wake up a member of the pride, or worse, your father. You should be more conciderate of others, next time."

"Sorry mom," Mufasa said, disappointed in his actions, "Did we wake you up?"

"No," Uru smiled, yawning, "I just have to get up really early each morning."

"Why?" Taka asked out of curiousity.

"Well, if I did not get up this early the morning," Uru explained, "There would be no one to stop Shakarri from waltzing in here and causing trouble."

"Oooh," Taka groaned, "I hate Shakarri! She's so mean and nasty!"

"And ugly," Mufasa added.

Uru laughed at her sons' comments.

"Very nice, you two," Uru laughed, "So you see why it is important that I wake up early?"

"Because if you didn't, Shakarri would come in here and be a bitch?" Taka smiled.

"Taka!" Uru gasped, "Where did you learn such language?"

"Shakarri, I think" Taka shrugged.

"Well, you shouldn't repeat anything that Shakarri says." Uru stated.

"How can we not repeat anything she says?" Mufasa asked his mother, "She talks so much, and she's ancient. I'll bet she's said everything in the world be now!"

Uru laughed at Mufasa's observation. Taka walked over to her and rubbed up against her.

"Mother?" Taka asked in a nervous voice.

"Yes, Taka?" Uru smiled, looking down at her son.

"Shakarri scares me," Taka stated, "She always talks about killing you and dad and Mufasa and me."

"Now, don't you worry about Shakarri," Uru smiled confidentaly, "If she lays even a paw on any of you, I'll beat her up!"

Taka and Mufasa laughed, as did Uru. They then got back on topic.

"Well," Mufasa said thoughtfully to his mother, "Is it alright if we play outside, then? We'll try to be as quiet as we can!"

"That would be the best thing to do right now," Uru nodded, "Run along!"

The two brothers jumped up and ran for the den's exit. Uru stopped Taka by placing her paw on his tail.

"Not so fast, Taka," Uru said calmly.

Mufasa turned around and gave his mother a confused look.

"You go outside and wait for your brother," Uru called to Mufasa, "I'll only keep him a minute."

Mufasa turned around and walked out of the den slowly.

"Now, Taka," Uru said, looking down at the scrawny cub, "Why would you toss Taka into a wall?"

"I don't know. It was an accident, mother," Taka replied.

"I know when your lying to me, Taka," Uru said, frowning at her cub, "And lying is a nasty habit. Now, why did you really do it?"

Taka sighed and looked up at his mother.

"I don't know," Taka said, clearly thinking it over, "I just did."

"Are you angry with Mufasa?" Uru asked, concerned about Taka's behavior.

"No," Taka replied.

"Is it something he said?"

"No"

Uru thought about what could be causing Taka's violent behavior.

"Is it because he is going to see the kingdom with your father, and you cannot go?" Uru asked after a pause.

"...Maybe." Taka replied plainly.

"Oh, so that's it!" Uru smiled down at Taka.

"Mother, it's just not fair!" Taka groaned, "Why does dad hate me?"

Uru wanted to say something like, "Oh, you father doesn't hate you!" or even "Your father loves you!", but she had already told Taka what a nasty habit lying is. Uru finally decided on what to say.

"It has nothing to do with how your father feels about you, Taka," Uru said sadly, "It's just that Mufasa is first in line for the thrown. He needs to learn as much about the kingdom as he can."

"So what does that leave for me? How am I to live, knowing that I will forever be looked at as second-best?" Taka asked his mother sourly.

Uru sighed, not knowing how to respond. She decided to change the subject.

"Why don't you come with me when your father takes Mufasa?" Uru suggested.

"Alright," Taka smiled, for he loved to spend quality time with his mother.

"Good," Uru smiled back, "Now run along. Mufasa's waiting."

"Okay," Taka called as he ran off, "See ya later!"

Uru rested her head on her paws.

"What am I going to do with him?" she laughed to herself.

------------------------------------------

Taka ran outside and joined Mufasa.

"What took you so long?" Mufasa asked his brother.

"Nothing," Taka groaned, "Now can we go?"

"Sure," Mufasa smiled at his brother, "Where should we go?"

Taka thought it over and shook his head.

"I dunno," Taka replied, "Where to you think we should go?"

Suddenly, a voice came from behing them.

"I know where you could go," the voice said.

Mufasa and Taka glanced at eachother and looked for the source of the voice. There, above them, sat a small cub, who they couldn't identify in the darkness.

"Alright," Mufasa replied to the mysterious cub, "Where can we go?"

"You can both go to hell!" said the small cub as it jumped down in front of them, no longer covered by the shadows.

"Zira!" both brother's gasped, running back toward their den, but they were cut off by a large lioness, who landed in front of them.

"Well done, child," Sharkarri said to Zira, and then laughed, "We've got them right where we want them now!"

Shakarri prepared to rip the two brothers apart, before a rock fell on her head, knocking her over. Zira looked up in the direction of the fallen rock to see a large lion sitting atop a ledge from Priderock.

"Hey!" Zira growled up at the lion, "Who the hell are you!"

The lion jumped down to the ground and roared, rendering Zira speechless. The two brothers got a closer look at the lion, both noticing it's strong resemblance to their father.

"Who am I?" The lion asked, "I am a lion who can't stand old lionesses who pick on young cubs! Isn't that right, Shakarri?"

Sharkarri looked up at lion and growled. However, once she looked into his eyes, she let out a surprised gasp.

"Guedado!" Shakarri gasped, "My love, is it really you?"

Guedado growled down at her.

"Is this what you've been doing since I left?" the large lion growled at Shakarri, "Hunting defenseless cubs?"

"You don't understand!" Shakarri pleaded, "Their mother killed Zhenga!"

Guedado sighed, not even knowing who Zhenga was.

"Well, that's no reason to take it out on them!" Guedado roared at the lioness.

"Granny," Zira said slowly, "Who is this lion?"

Shakarri got up and smiled at Zira.

"This is your grandfather, Guedado," Shakarri smiled, "And he is the rightful king of the Pridelands!"

"Will you just let that go!" Guedado roared at his former-mate, "I'm not the rightful king!"

"But, my love," Shakarri said, shocked, "You can't deny that if Ahadi wasn't born, you would be king!"

"The Pridelands do not need me as king!" Guedado boomed at Shakarri, "My nephew is doing a great job of ruling over the Pridelands!"

Ahadi and Uru ran out of their den, having heard the commotion. Ahadi looked at the large lion with surprise.

"Uncle 'Dado!" Ahadi called with joy, embracing the large lion.

"It's good to see you, Ahadi!" Guedado laughed, "You've grown up a lot!"

Ahadi let go of his uncle and smiled at him.

"How have you been doing?" Ahadi asked him.

"I'm dying!" Guedado laughed.

"What?" Ahadi asked sadly, "How do you..?"

"When your this old," Ahadi's uncle explained, "You just know when your time is coming! I figured it should end where it began. Right here in the Pridelands! If you'll allow a dying lion to return, that is."

"Of course, Uncle 'Dado," Ahadi replied, sad to hear the news of his uncle's time running out.

"So," Guedado laughed, "Aren't you going to introduce me to your mate?"

"Oh, yes," Ahadi smiled, "This is my mate, Uru."

"She's the one who killed Zhenga, my love," Shakarri piped up.

"Leave, you liar!" Guedado roared at Shakarri.

Shakarri picked up Zira and ran away.

"She always was a coward!" Guedado laughed.

"Glad to hear it!" Uru replied.

The two laughed wildly, both doing impressions of Shakarri being scared out of her wits.

"Oh, you've found yourself a good mate, Ahadi!" Guedado remarked.

"Thank you, Uncle," Ahadi replied, before looking down at the two shaking cubs, " By they way, this is my son, Mufasa. He's the future king."

"Nice to meet you, Mufasa," Guedado said, before noticing Taka, "And who might this be?"

"Oh," said Ahadi, sounding almost ashamed, "That's just Taka."

"Our other son," Uru added proudly.

Guedado stared at Taka before speaking again.

"Y'know who he reminds me of?" Guedado asked Ahadi while pointing to Taka, "Your.."

"No," Ahadi cut him off, "Don't say it."

Guedado shrugged and looked to the horizon as the sun rose.

"Well," Ahadi smiled down at Mufasa, "Sunrise. Time for me to show you the kingdom!"

Ahadi began to walk off with Mufasa following close behind, before turning back to Guedado.

"Would you like to come with us, Uncle 'Dado?" Ahadi asked his uncle.

"No thank you," Guedado replied with a yawn, "I think I'll just lie down for a nap. I had to travel a great distance to get here."

"Enjoy your nap, Uncle," Ahadi called back before walking off with Mufasa.

Uru looked down at Taka and smiled widely. Taka returned the smile.

"Well," she laughed, "I guess we can go now!"

"Yahoo!" Taka cried, running toward the sun, "Let's go!"

Uru shook her head and turned to Guedado.

"I better follow him," Uru smiled at the old lion, "It was a pleasure meeting you!"

"Oh, believe me," Guedado replied without opening his eyes, "The pleasure was all mine!"

Uru ran off after Taka. When she was out of sight, Guedado opened one eye and gave a wicked smile.

-----------------------------------

Taka and Uru stopped running as they reached the watering hole.

"So," Uru smiled at her cub, "What would you like to do? We can do anything you want."

Taka thought it over before replying.

"How about we..." Taka started, when suddenly he was cut off.

"Uru!" came a call from behind them.

Taka and Uru turned around to see a group of lionesses charging toward them. The one in front reached them first and spoke.

"Uru, where have you.." the lioness stopped speaking after looking down at Taka, "Oh... he's so cute. Is this Taka?"

Uru nodded as Taka hid behind her leg.

"Please excuse him," Uru laughed, "He's a bit shy."

"Oh, that's perfectly understandable," replied the lioness, nodding.

"Was there something you wanted?" Uru asked.

"Oh, yeah!" the lioness laughed as the rest of the group caught up with her, "Your supposed to lead the hunt today."

Both Uru and Taka groaned.

"This is kind of a bad time," Uru said plainly.

"Come on, Uru," the lioness smiled, "A queen can't dissapoint her subjects!"

"True," Uru replied, "But I can't disappoint my son, either. I promised he could stay with me today."

"He could go see one of his friends while you're out," the lioness suggested.

Taka hung his head as Uru sighed.

"He...doesn't...that is to say," Uru tried to find the right words.

"Ow, he has no friends," the lioness smiled, "I get it!"

"Figures," laughed a voice from the middle of the crowd.

"Oh, and I suppose Zira has lots of friends, doesn't she, Shakarri?" Uru growled at the lioness in the middle.

"Zira doesn't need friends!" Shakarri growled, "Isn't that right, child?"

Zira made herself visible and nodded.

"Just go, mother," Taka said coldly, "I'm going to find a friend!"

Shakarri and Zira laughed. Uru looked down at her cub and smiled.

"I'm sure that you will," Uru smiled at Taka, "Don't worry, I won't be long!"

Uru joined the group of lionesses and ran off, leaving Taka alone. Shakarri bent over to Zira and whispered.

"Why don't you run along and play!" Shakarri laughed quietly.

Zira nodded and ran off.

"Now," Taka said to himself, "All I have to do is find a friend. Shouldn't be to hard. Friend, friend, where to find a friend?"

-------------------------

Taka ran off to look for a friend, and ended up behind Priderock before he was knocked over by an attack from behind.

"Well, if it isn't the spoiled brat!" Zira laughed.

"What do you want, Zira?" Taka growled

"I want you and your family dead!" Zira snarled, before pouncing on Taka.

The two cubs tumbled to the bottom of Priderock. Taka quickly got up and back away from Zira's swipes.

"I won't fight you, Zira," Taka stated, trying to escape.

"Wonderful," Zira laughed before knocking him to the ground, "That makes things much easier for me!"

Zira was about to bite into Taka's throat, when a voice from behind stopped her.

"Let him go, Zira!" the voice demanded.

Zira and Taka both looked up to see a small lioness cub sitting on top of a stone.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Zira asked rudely, "This has nothing to do with you!"

"It does now!" the cub snarled at Zira.

Zira backed away and looked down at Taka, who was breathing heavily.

"Next time," Zira sneered down at Taka, "You won't be so lucky!"

With that, Zira ran off. The lioness cub walked over to Taka and rolled her eyes.

"What is the matter with you?" she asked Taka with a groan.

"What do you mean?" Taka asked.

"I mean you just stood still while Zira kicked your ass!" the cub hissed.

"What did you expect me to do?" Taka asked, starting to get annoyed, "Hit a lioness?"

"Yes," the cub said plainly.

"I can't do that," Taka stated.

"And why is that?" the cub asked.

"There is no honor in hitting a lioness!" Taka declared.

"Oh, and I suppose getting beat up by one brings you a lot of honor!" the cub laughed.

"Shut up," Taka said smiling slightly.

"Well, I guess that the important thing is that you're okay," the cub sighed, "It's a good thing that Zira didn't do any damage to your lovely face!"

The cub shook her head, as if regretting what she had said.

"My...my what?" Taka asked in surprise.

The cub decided to somehow change the subject and pounced on Taka and pining him to the ground.

"Pinned ya!" she laughed.

Taka looked up at her and cocked his head.

"What are you doing?" Taka asked the cub.

"I...I'm playing," the cub replied, a bit surprised, "Don't you know how to play?"

"Well, yeah," Taka said after a short pause, "I play with my brother all the time. I just didn't know that lioness cubs played, too."

"Well, what did you think lioness cubs did all day?" the cub smiled down at Taka.

"Well," Taka started, "I honestly thought that they hunted with the other lionesses. Isn't that all lionesses are good for?"

"Excuse me? You take that back!" the cub growled, digging her claws into Taka's chest.

Taka winced in pain.

"Alright, alright!" Taka groaned, "I take it back, even though I don't see what the harm is in saying that. What else can lionesses do, anyway?"

"This!" the cub laughed, digging her claws into Taka's cheast again.

"Ow!" Taka said wincing in pain, "I never expected a lioness to play so rough!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," the cub said sarcastically, "Did I hurt the little baby?"

Taka kicked up at the cub's stomach, and flipped her over him, sending her to the ground.

"Not at all!" Taka laughed.

"Hey!" the cub laughed, "I thought you said you couldn't hit a lioness!"

"Well," Taka said returning the laugh, "I must have changed my mind!"

The two cubs rolled around on the ground laughing.

"My name's Taka, by the way," Taka finally said.

"I'm Sarafina," the lioness cub laughed, before suggesting, "You wanna do something that could get us in trouble?"

"What did you have in mind?" Taka asked, giving Sarafina a naughty smile.

Sarafina whispered in Taka's ear.

"Oh..my...that would be so cool!" Taka laughed, "Let's do it!"

The two cubs got up and ran off, laughing all the way.

_So this is what it's like, _Taka thought to himself, _This is the feeling of having a friend!_

_-------------------------------------------_

Guedado watched the two cubs go from behind some tall grass. He laughed wickedly and followed them, showing great care in not letting them see him. Guedado was on the prowl! And soon, he would catch his prey!

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	6. Three Cubs, Three Makers of Mischief

_Kondo and Hanaa are my characters and are not to be used without my permission. Read and Review! Please! Forgive typos!(Can I please stop asking you to forgive typos? I mean, at this point it should be implied!) Enjoy! _

--

Three Cubs, Three Makers of Mischief

Ahadi lead Mufasa to the edge of Priderock, overlooking the entire kingdom.

"Look, Mufasa," Ahadi smiled down at his son while pointing to the area below them, "Look past the trees, past the rivers, and past the hills. Everything the light touches is our kingdom."

Mufasa smiled and stared down at everything below him. He then looked forward to the area covered in shadows.

"What about that shadowy place?" Mufasa asked pointing forward.

"That," Ahadi said cautiously, "Is not land that belongs to us, nor is it land that we'd want."

"Why not?" Mufasa asked before swatting at a butterfly that was hovering above him.

"Because, Mufasa," Ahadi explained, "There is nothing there. No food. No water. Nothing."

"Oh, I get it," Mufasa said nodding, still swatting at the butterfly, "We do't want it because it's useless to us. We already have plenty of food and water!"

"It's good that you understand," Ahadi smiled at his son proudly, "But you must also understand that you must never go there."

"What?" Mufasa asked in confusion, allowing the butterfly to fly away, "Why not?"

"It is too dangerous, son," Ahadi replied.

"But you just said there was nothing out there!" Mufasa stated, before smiling up at his father, "What's out there that could be so dangerous?"

"Nothing," Ahadi said turning his head away from his son, "It's just a bunch of boring rocks. Rocks which could fall easily. And then you'd be flattened."

Mufasa wasn't buying it.

"Come on, dad," Mufasa whined with a mischievous smile, "Your hiding something from me! What's really out there?"

"Nothing, son," Ahadi sighed, "Just promise me that you'll never go there."

"Okay, dad," Mufasa said with a heavy sigh, "I promise."

"Good cub," Ahadi smiled down at Mufasa, "Now follow me. We have a lot more to see today."

Ahadi began to walk off, before noticing that Mufasa hadn't moved from his spot.



"Is something the matter, Mufasa?" Ahadi asked his son in a concerned tone.

"Why are you showing me all this?" Mufasa asked in almost a whiney tone.

"Because," replied Ahadi, a little taken a back by the question, "All this will be yours one day. You should know as much as you can about it."

"But why are you showing _me _all this?" Mufasa repeated, "Why aren't you showing Taka, too?"

"Taka is not the future king, son," Ahadi smiled at Mufasa, "You are."

"But what's so bad about him seeing the kingdom, too?" Mufasa argued.

"It is against tradition," Ahadi explained, "Only future kings are allowed to be taught these things."

"But he's the brother of a future king," Mufasa reasoned, "That makes him special, doesn't it? I mean, when I'm king, what will that make Taka?"

"When you are older," Ahadi explained with no emotion, "Taka will be pushed out of the pride."

"What?" Mufasa gasped in disbelief, "Why?"

"No lion, with the exception of kings and future kings, can stay in the Pridelands forever," Ahadi smiled down at Mufasa, "Eventually, they have to leave and form their own pride. It is tradition."

"Well, when I'm king," Mufasa said, staring at the sky, "That tradition will be over with, and Taka will be able to stay here forever!"

Ahadi shook his head and sighed before getting back on his feet and walking to wards the bottom of Priderock.

"Come, Mufasa," Ahadi called to his son, "You still have much to see."

Mufasa obeyed and followed his father, still thinking about what his father has said.

_We will never be apart,Taka, _Mufasa thought to himself,_ Not if I have anything to say about it!_

_--_

Sarafina led Taka to a den and stopped.

"What are we doing here?" Taka asked his new friend.

"One of my friends lives here," Sarafina explained, "I'm sure she wouldn't want to miss out on this!"

"Who would?" Taka smiled at Sarafina.

Sarafina returned the smile and ran into the den. When she returned, a second lioness cub followed her. Taka looked up at the friend of Sarafina and gasped.

_Her fur! _Taka thought to himself, _It's not like the others around here! It's darkened, like mine. She looks so strange, yet….so normal._



The two lioness cubs ran up to Taka.

"So this is Taka," the new cub remarked with a smile, studying Taka closely, and afterward mouthing to Sarafina, "Not bad!"

Taka backed up a bit, surprised at her statement.

"Taka, this is my friend Sarabi," Sarafina said to Taka happily.

Sarabi and Taka stared at each other, as if in a trance. Sarafina looked back and forth between the two and groaned.

"Can we go now?" Sarafina asked them both impatiently.

"I don't know about this, Sarafina," Sarabi stated, turning to her friend, "You remember what happened last time we did something like this, don't you?"

"What happened last time?" Taka asked Sarafina.

"Well..." Sarafina said sheepishly, "Last time me and Sarabi did something bad, we were confined to our dens for two weeks."

"Hmm," Taka said, thinking what Sarafina had said over, "Well, I suppose that explains why I haven't seen you two around. Wow. Having to stay in your den for so long doesn't sound that fun."

"See!" Sarabi shouted at Sarafina, "He thinks it's bad idea,too!"

"Oh, come on, Taka!" Sarafina laughed, "What are you, a scardy-cat!"

"No!" Taka snapped back defensively, "I just don't want to get in that much trouble!"

"Look," Sarafina sighed at the two cubs, "Are you two coming or not?"

Sarafina and Taka glanced at each other.

"I'll go if he goes," Sarabi stated, pointing to Taka.

"I'll go," Taka responded.

"Great!" Sarafina smiled, "Let's go!"

The two lioness cubs ran ahead of Taka. Taka got up and ran after them.

"Wait up!" Taka shouted to the cubs in front of him.

Sarabi said something to Sarafina, which Taka could just barely make out.

"You were right about Taka, Sarafina" Sarabi smiled, "He is really cute!"

Taka stopped in his tracks and sat down, smiling to himself.

_Well, _Taka thought to himself, _This making friends business is working out better than I thought it would!_

"Come on, Taka!" Sarafina and Sarabi shouted in unison, having been far ahead of him.

"Oh...coming!" Taka shouted back, running after the two lioness cubs.

--

The three cubs arrived at the watering hole and looked around.

"What about those two?" Taka suggested, pointing to two monkeys.

"Nah, too easy," Sarafina smiled, still looking around.

"Well, how about them?" Sarabi suggested, pointing to two hornbills.

"_Boring_!" Sarafina laughed, before looking around again.

"What about those guys?" Taka suggested, pointing to two warthogs who were drinking next to each other.

"Perfect!" Sarafina laughed, "Well done, Taka!"

The three friends gave each other a nod and began to run down the hill that they were sitting on. Suddenly, Sarabi stopped in her tracks.

"Wait," Sarabi called to the other two cubs.

"What is it?" Sarafina asked.

"We're not alone," Sarabi replied with a twitch of her ear.

Sarabi turned around, facing a large bush. Taka and Sarafina stared at her in confusion.

"I know you're there!" Sarabi growled at the bush, "There's no use in hiding anymore. Who are you?"

Taka and Sarafina stared in disbelief as a large lion emerged from behind the bush. Taka's eyes widened.

"You're that lion from before!" Taka gasped, "Guedado!"

Guedado nodded and smiled.

"Hello, Taka," Guedado smiled politely.

"You know him?" Sarabi asked Taka.

"Yeah," Taka replied, "He's a relative of mine. I think."

"Yes," Guedado said to Sarabi, nodding to Taka, "I'm his grand-uncle."



Sarabi examine Guedado thoroughly, before smiling.

"Funny," Sarabi laughed, "You don't look so_ grand!_"

"Well," Guedado said in an offended tone, "Your not so grand yourself!"

"What do you want?" Sarabi growled rudely.

Guedado paced back and forth, thinking of an answer.

"I was just out for a hunt," Guedado smiled, "When I saw three cubs without supervision. So I've been following you three to make sure that you stay out of trouble."

"We don't need supervision," Sarafina stated.

"Especially from some out-of-date old coot," Sarabi added.

Both lioness cubs stared at Taka, waiting for his imput.

"Please," Taka said sadly to Guedado, "Just leave us alone."

Guedado turned away and sighed.

"Okay, Taka," Guedado said sadly, "If that's really what you want."

Guedado turned and walked away. When the three cubs turned back to Guedado ran off, smiling to himself.

_That lioness cub sure was observant, _Guedado thought to himself, _This could be harder than I thought! _

With Guedado far away, the three friends ran down to the warthogs and crept up behind them. Taka jumped in front of them while the two lioness cubs stayed behind them, out of view.

"Why, hello," Taka smiled up at the warthogs, "What are you doing over here?"

"Beat it, kid" one of the warthogs grunted, "Can't you see we're relaxing?"

"But sir!" Taka said in a surprised tone, "How can relax at a time like this! What, with all the danger and all."

"What the hell are you talking about?" the second warthog grunted, "There's no danger here!"

"I wish that were true, madam," Taka replied, shaking his head, "But surely you've heard the news?"

"What news?" the male warthog asked, seeming concerned.

"Oh, nothing," Taka responded, stifling a laugh, "Just that a group hyenas have been spotted around here earlier!"

"What!" both warthogs shouted in disbelief.



The other animals at the watering hole looked in the direction of Taka and the warthogs.

"Shhh" Taka shushed, looking around, "Do you want to scare the whole kingdom?"

Both warthogs shook their heads.

"There have really been hyena-sightings around here?" the female warthog asked.

"Oh, yes" Taka replied, trying his best not to laugh, "They say that the hyenas have sneaked themselves in here, looking for a meal. They're walking around, waiting for their chance to strike! And when you least expect it, they...will...get you!"

With that, Sarafina and Sarabi growled and dug their claws into the backsides of both warthogs. The warthogs jumped and wailed in terror, landing strait into the watering hole. The three cubs rolled on the ground, laughing. Th warthogs climbed out of the water and walked away, grumbling to themselves.

"That...was...awesome!" Taka said between laughs.

"Didn't I tell you it would be?" Sarafina asked Taka happily.

When their laughing ceased, the three cubs got up and sighed.

"Now what?" Sarabi asked the two other cubs.

"Well," Sarafina replied, thinking it over, "We could do it again, to someone else."

All three cubs nodded.

"But who?" Sarabi asked.

"...I know!" Taka exclaimed.

Both lioness cubs looked over to Taka and cocked their heads. Taka pointed to a large elephant who was standing alone in the plains.

"I don't know, Taka," Sarabi said, examining the elephant from afar, "That just seems crazy."

"Yeah," Sarafina added, "I mean, look at the size of him. He's big, even by elephant standards!"

"Oh, don't be such wimps!" Taka laughed, running off, "It'll be fun!"

The two lioness cubs looked at each other and shrugged. They then followed Taka to the area that the elephant was in. Like before, Taka stepped in front of the elephant, while Sarabi and Sarafina stood behind it, out of its view.

"Good day," Taka smiled at the elephant politely, "Why are you here at a time like this?"

The elephant looked down at Taka and lowered his trunk.

"What do you mean?" the elephant asked, waving his trunk, "Is there something I should know about?"



"You mean you haven't heard?" Taka smiled at the massive elephant, "There have been hyena sightings all day!"

The elephant's eyes glazed over. He grabbed Taka with his trunk and shook him wildly.

"Hyenas?" the elephant boomed, "Where? How did they get here? How dare they come here! I'll smash them!"

The elephant stopped shaking Taka and looked at him. Taka looked sick, as if he was about to vomit. The elephant sighed and placed him down gently. Sarafina and Sarabi looked at Taka from behind the elephant's legs, concerned for their friend's well-being. Taka put them at ease with a smile and a wink.

"Sorry 'bout that, little one," the elephant stated, shaking his head, "Now, where are the hyenas?"

"Nobody knows, exactly," Taka smiled, "But they say that they got in the Pridelands and are lurking around. And when you least expect it...they...will...get you!"

Sarafina and Sarabi once again growled and dug their claws into the elephant's legs. The elephant's eyes glazed over as he stomped on the ground, waving his trunk wildly.

"HYENAS!" the elephant trumpeted, charging off in the direction of the watering hole, "WHERE ARE THEY? I"LL KILL THOSE BASTARDS!"

Taka, Sarabi, and Sarafina looked on as the elephant rampaged around the watering hole, charging at trees and hitting anything that moved with his trunk. This caused the animals around the watering hole to become terrified and run off. The three cubs looked at each other in shock.

"Run away?" Sarafina asked her two friends.

"Sounds good to me!" Sarabi remarked.

Th two lioness cubs began to run off, until they noticed Taka still sitting down atop the hill, staring wide-eyed as the elephant bludgeoned anything in it's path.

"Come on, Taka!" Sarabi shouted to the shaking lion cub, "We have to get out of here!"

Taka remained still. Sarafina ran up to him and dug her claws into his chest.

"Augrh!" Taka howled in pain, "What'd you do that for?"

"No time," Sarafina replied before running away with Sarabi, "We gotta go."

Taka ran after them and never looked back.

_What have I done? _Taka thought to himself, _This is all my fault!_

--

Uru looked up from the zebra she had caught and sniffed the air, giving the zebra the chance to struggle out of her grasp and run away.



"Are you okay, Uru?" one of th lionesses asked the queen, "I've never known you to let your prey escape like that!"

Uru watched the zebra run off, and then smiled at the lioness.

"I'm fine," Uru smiled, shaking her head, "But you look exhausted! Long night?"

The lioness shook her head and smiled.

"Not really," the lioness replied, smiling at Uru, "I'm always up all night, worried that when morning comes, Sarafina might get herself into more trouble than she can handle!"

"I wouldn't worry, Hanaa," Uru smiled, "I'm sure your cub can't get into to much trouble."

"You don't know Sarafina!" Hanaa laughed.

Uru smiled at Hanaa before sniffing the air again. She began to worry as she caught a strange scent. Uru placed her ear to the ground. Her eyes widened as she jumped up.

"Run!" Uru shouted to the rest of the lionesses, "There's a stampede coming to wards us!"

--

Ahadi was just finishing showing Mufasa the kingdom. They walked to the top of a hill and sat down, the wind blowing in their fur.

"And so you see, Mufasa," Ahadi explained, "Everything exists together in a delicate balance. As king, you will need to understand that balance and respect all creatures, from the termites in the ground to the birds in the sky."

"Respect _all_ creatures?" Mufasa asked his father.

"Yes, son," Ahadi replied, "Each and every one."

"Even hyenas?" Mufasa asked Ahadi.

Ahadi was about to reply, when Zuzu swooped down and landed next to Ahadi.

"Sire!" Zuzu shouted, "You are needed immediately! One of the elephants, Kondo, I think, is going on a rampage! He's caused the other animals to stampede!"

"What?" Ahadi growled, "This is unacceptable!"

With that, Zuzu flew off with Ahadi following her. Mufasa started to run after them, but Ahadi wouldn't allow it.

"No, It's too dangerous," Ahadi called back, "Go somewhere safe!"

Mufasa sighed as his father disappeared from view. Suddenly, Taka and two other cubs ran past Mufasa quickly.

"Hey, Taka" Mufasa called to his brother.



Taka stopped in his tracks and turned to his brother.

"Oh," Taka said, almost out of breath, "I didn't see you there, Mufy. Aren't you supposed to be with father?"

"Well, yeah," Mufasa sighed sadly, "But he ran off with Zuzu,"

"Why?" Taka asked, surprised that his father had neglected Mufasa.

"I don't know," Mufasa said, shaking his head, "Something about an elephant and a stampede."

Taka eyes widened.

"Is that...that so?" Taka asked his brother sheepishly, "I hope everything turns out alright."

"Yeah, me too," Mufasa replied before looking at the cubs behind his brother, "Who are they?"

"Oh, right," Taka said, glad about the change of subject, "These are my new friends, Sarafina and Sarabi."

"Nice to meet you," Mufasa said politely, addressing the lioness cubs, "I am Mufasa."

Sarabi walked up to Mufasa and stared at him, before turning to Sarafina and mouthing, "This one's not so bad, either!"

Sarafina and Taka rolled their eyes. Suddenly, all four cubs felt the earth shake beneath them. They all looked behind them, not the least bit prepared for what they were about to see. The stampede was coming strait to wards them. The stampede had increased from the last time Taka had seen it. It had grown from almost all the animals who were at the watering hole, to almost the whole kingdom. The four cubs stared in terror as the stampeding animals ran strait to wards them, with no signs of stopping.

"Oh, no," Taka gasped quietly to himself, "What have I done?"

--

Review, please! Let me know what you think of this chapter .


	7. Escaping a Stampede

_Read and Review(PLEASE!). Forgive typos. Enjoy!_

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Escaping a Stampede

Guedado hung his head and walked slowly into the den that Ahadi had given him to stay in. He looked up to see Shakarri and Zira laying on the floor.

"It's not nice to keep others waiting," Shakarri smiled at Guedado, "I left the hunting group early just to see you. To my surprise, I found Zira right around here. We decided to pay you a visit."

"What the hell are _you_ doing in here," Guedado growled at Shakarri, "Ahadi gave this den to _me_! Get out!"

Shakarri turned away, trying to hide the tears that were streaming down her face.

"But why?" Sharkarri asked sadly, "Don't you love me anymore?"

"I loved you with all my heart," Guedado sighed, "And I thought that you loved me back. But I guess I was wrong."

Shakarri ran over to Guedado and looked up at him.

"But I do love you!" Shakarri pleaded, "I've always loved you! I always will love you!"

"Then explain that!" Guedado roared at Shakarri, pointing to Zira.

Zira ran behind Shakarri's leg.

"Zira?" Shakarri asked Guedado in confusion, "What about her?"

"Is she yours?" Guedado asked with a growl.

"Kind of," Shakarri replied, "She's my grand-daughther."

"So," Guedado growled coldly, "You must have at some point had a cub. Was that who Zhenga was?"

"Y...yes, Guedado," Shakarri replied, backing away from the large lion.

Guedado smacked her with his paw, causing Shakarri to crash into the den wall. Zira ran to the back of the den and hid behind a large rock.

"You cheating bitch!" Guedado roared, "We never went past necking! How dare you have a cub with another lion!"

"G...Guedado, my love," Shakarri said, getting to her feet, "You don't understand."

"I think I do understand!" Guedado roared, "You never loved me, did you? You were just toying with me the whole time! You make me sick!"

"Please, Guedado," Shakarri moaned, "It was after you left...I was confused and...so alone. He just showed up one day and...told me that he could make it all better. And then he...well..."

"Silence!" Guedado roared, "Where is he? I'll tear him apart for taking advantage of you!"

"He's gone," Shakarri stated sadly, "He was an outsider. After I told him that I was pregnant, he...he ran away, and I never saw him again."

Guedado's jaw dropped in shock. Shakarri began to sob uncontrollably.

"Oh, Shakarri," Guedado cooed softly, lifting his front leg, "Come here."

Shakarri did as she was told an walked over to Guedado. Guedado placed his front leg over he and held her close to his chest.

"Gue...Guedado, my l...love," Shakarri sobbed, "I'm...so...sorry!"

"Hush now," Guedado smiled softly, "I'm here. Everything's alright, now."

Guedado looked up to see Zira, who was still hiding behind a rock.

"Come, little one," Guedado called to Zira, "It's alright. I won't hurt you."

Zira walked over to Guedado and Shakarri slowly. When Zira was close enough, Guedado pulled her closer to himself, holding her at his side.

"Zira," Guedado said thoughtfully, "That is such an awful name for such a nice cub."

"It wasn't the original choice for her name," Shakarri replied, "If Zhenga was still alive, he name would be..."

Shakarri was cut off by the sounds of hundreds of animals running below the den.

"What the hell is going on?" Guedado asked aloud, surveying the stampede below him.

Shakarri surveyed the stampede, as well. To her surprise, she saw the hunting group running for their lives amoungst the other animals. More importantly, Shakarri saw Uru, who was also runnig in the middle of the stampede.

"Perfect!" Shakarri laughed manically, running strait to wards the stampede, "Now's my chance to avenge Zhenga!"

"Shakarri, wait!" Guedado called to Shakarri, but it was no use.

Guedado sighed and turned to Zira.

"Zira, you stay here," Guedado said to the small cub before running off after Shakarri.

Zira sat in the same spot for a short while, before thinking of Mufasa and Taka.

"Maybe," Zira laughed quietly to herself, "I can do my grand-mother a little favor, and dispose of the things that the queen loves more than anything!"

With that, Zira ran out of the den to search for Mufasa and Taka. She promised herself that this time, she wouldn't fail!

--------------------------------------------------

"How will we get out of this, Uru?" Hanaa called to the queen, running in the middle of the stampede to avoid being trampled.

"Arrgh!" Uru growled as a zebra bumped into her, "There's a canyon not to far from here. Once we get there, we can just climb are way out!"

"Oh, Sarafina," Hanaa said quietly to herself, "Please be safe!"

Suddenly, Hanaa was knocked over by an antelope. Hanaa hit the ground and covered her head, fearing that she would be trampled to death. Most of the animals at least made an attempt to avoid Hanaa. Some did not. Hanaa was being stomped on reapeatedly by all sorts of creatures who were trying to escape the stampede, themselves. Uru turned and ran towards Hanaa, avoiding all the animals who were charging in the opposite direction. Some of the other lionesses turned also, but Uru insisted on going alone.

"Go!" Uru shouted to the lionesses, "Run to the canyon, where it is safe!"

The lionesses obeyed and ran off with the stampede. Uru reached Hanaa and pulled her up.

"Come now, Hanaa," Uru said, trying to sound calm, "We need to get you out of here!"

The other animals, having seen queen Uru, made a greater effort in going around the two lionesses. Hanaa got up slowly and winced before collapsing back on the ground.

"I...I can't!" Hanaa moaned, "I think my leg is broken!"

Uru looked at Hanaa's back legs and was upset by what she saw. One of Hanaa's legs was bent sideways at the angle. There was no way that Hanaa could stand on it, much less run. There was only one way to get Hanaa out of the stampede. Uru clamped her teeth around Hanaa's neck and tossed her in the air, catching the lioness one her back.

"Aughk!" Hanaa moaned.

Uru looked around for a way out, but she could not see anything through the barrage of Pridelanders. Suddenly, she saw a group of elephants running with the rest of the animals. It gave her an idea.

"Hanaa," Uru said, crouching down, "Hold on tight. I'm getting you out of here!"

Uru pounced up high and landed on an elephant. The elephant either did not notice, or did not care, because it kept running. Uru clung to the elephant and looked around. She could see the canyon. They were close, now. Hanaa groaned in pain.

"Don't worry, Hanaa," Uru breathed, "We'll be safe soon."

--------------------------------------------------

"Run!" Taka shouted to the three other cubs.

The four cubs ran as fast as the could, with the stampede fast approaching. As each moment passed, the stampede became faster and faster. Taka looked around as he ran, hoping to find some means of escaped. Finally, he saw it; A large canyon with plenty of ledges.

"This way!" Taka called to the three cubs, running towards the canyon.

Mufasa, Sarabi, and Sarafina followed Taka into the canyon. Taka jumped from legde to legde, pulling himself closer and closer. The other cubs followed suit, jumping and climbing for the top. Taka made it up first and breathed heavily. He looked down at the three cubs who were climbing up to him. Sarafina made it up, followed soon by Sarabi. But for Mufasa, it would not be so easy. The stampede had arrived at the canyon. Almost the entire kingdom was charging beneath him, rendering Mufasa frozen with fear.

"Come on, Mufasa!" Taka called down to his brother in concern, "You can make it! Just keep climbing! Don't think of anything else! Just get yourself up here!"

Mufasa looked up at his brother and nodded timidly. He began to pull himself up again. Suddenly, he stopped and began to slip.

"Mufasa!" Taka screamed down at his brother, "Don't quit now! You can make it!"

"No, I can't!" Mufasa called back, "Somethings pulling me down!"

Taka stepped to the side to see what Mufasa was talking about. Indeed, something was pulling Mufasa down.

"Zira!" Taka snarled, "Let him go!"

"And if I don't?" Zira laughed, pulling Mufasa even lower with one paw, while clinging to the canyon wall with the other.

"ZIRA!" Taka roared, becoming enraged.

Zira laughed and pulled Mufasa even lower. Mufasa clung to the canyon wall tightly, trying to pull himself up. He kicked wildly at Zira with his free hind leg, managing to break free from her grip. Zira slid down the canyon wall slightly, tightened her grip and climbed back up after Mufasa. Mufasa looked down at Zira and the stampede. Zira was gaining on him. Soon, she would have him in her grip once more. Mufasa climbed with all his might to escape Zira. Soon, he was close to the top. Unfortunately, Zira was close to him. Mufasa looked up at Taka, who was deeply concerned.

"Taka!" Mufasa shouted up at his brother, extending his paw, "Brother! Help me!"

--------------------------------------------------

Zuzu led Ahadi to the watering hole, where Kondo was rampaging. Ahadi raored, hoping to gain the elephant's attention. Kondo continued charging around the watering hole. Zuzu flew up to him and squacked in his ear.

"Pardon me, sir," Zuzu said formally, "But by order of the king, you must cease your tantrum!"

Kondo smacked Zuzu with his trunk, sending her flying. Ahadi caught the small hornbill in his mouth and placed her down next to him.

"Maybe," Ahadi sighed, "You should let me handle this."

"Capital idea, sire," Zuzu groaned in pain, before fainting.

Ahadi rolled his eyes and ran over to the massive elephant.

"Kondo," Ahadi growled, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Kondo snapped out of his rage and looked down at Ahadi.

"Sire," Kondo gasped, "There are hyenas here!"

Ahadi looked around before turning his attention back to the large elephant.

"I see no hyenas," Ahadi stated coldly.

"But...I was sure that," Kondo gasped in confusion, looking around for hyenas.

"Kondo," Ahadi addressed the elephant, trying to be patient, "Where did you see the hyenas?"

"Well," Kondo replied, "I didn't see them exactly, you see.."

"YOU DIDN'T SEE ANY HYENAS?" Ahadi roared, "DAMN YOU, YOU GREAT BIG OAF! YOU'VE CAUSED A STAMPEDE FOR NO REASON, YOU IDIOT!"

Kondo looked around, seeing the stampede even though it was a great distance away.

"Oh no!" Kondo gasped, tears streaming down his massive face, "What have I done?"

Zuzu flew over and perched herself on Ahadi's shoulder.

"Sire," Zuzu chirped, "Perhaps we should deal with the stampede, now."

Ahadi nodded and ran in the direction of the stampede, before turning back to Kondo.

"I'll deal with you later!" Ahadi growled at the sobbing elephant.

Ahadi ran off after Zuzu, leaving Kondo alone. Kondo turned to the direction of the stampede.

"I started this," Kondo said sadly, before regaining his nerve, "And I'm going to end it!"

--------------------------------------------

Having finally reached the canyon, Uru jumped off the elephant and climbed to a large ledge. She place Hanaa down and collapsed. Uru looked up to see a figure looming over her. The figure laughed manically before revealing itself.

"Shakarri!" Uru growled at the lioness weakly, "What do you want?"

"I've come to send you to hell!" Shakarri laughed, before pouncing forward.

Uru ducked, avoiding Shakarri's attack. Shakarri pushed off of a wall, pouncing to wards Uru again. Uru rolled out of the way, narrowly dodging Shakarri again. Shakarri ran over to Uru and slashed at her violently. Uru ducked, jumped, and stepped back to avoid Shakarri's assault.

"U...Uru," Hanaa groaned softly, trying to get up, before moaning and falling back on the ground.

The distraction allowed Shakarr the chance to smack Uru over with the back of her paw. Shakarri pounced on top off Uru and slashed at her face. Uru pushed Shakarri off by kicking at Shakarri's chest. Shakarri stumbled backward and slipped off the ledge. Uru looked over the side to see Sharkarri clinging for her life, with the stampede far below her. Uru was debating whether or not to help Shakarri.

"Now," Uru said to Shakarri calmly, "If I help you up, will you promise to stop trying to kill me?"

Shakarri answered by spitting in Uru's face. Uru growled and turned away, wiping her face. Suddenly, Guedado jumped down from the ledge above Uru and looked down at Shakarri.

"Oh, there you are, Shakarri," Guedado laughed, "What are you doing? Just hanging around?"

"Guedado!" Shakarri smiled, "Help me up so that I may finally avenge Zhenga!"

"No," Guedado stated with a frown.

"What?" Shakarri gasped in shock, "You're not going to help me?"

"Oh, of course I will help you," Guedado smiled at his mate, "As long as you promise to stop your fight with Uru."

"No," Shakarri said coldly, "Never!"

"Alright, then," Guedado said casually, "Stay here, then."

Shakarri grumbled before speaking again.

"Alright...I promise," Shakarri growled.

"Good!" Guedado smiled, pulling Shakarri up.

Shakarri growled at Uru before climbing to a higher ledge and running off.

"Please excuse her," Guedado sighed, "She's always been a bit...stubborn."

"Really?" Uru asked sarcastically, "I hadn't noticed!"

Guedado smiled before jumping to another ledge and walking away.

"Now," Uru said, turning her attention back to Hanaa, "We need to put your leg-bone back in place."

Uru walked over to Hanaa's leg and bent over it.

"This will hurt," Uru warned, "...A lot."

Uru clenched her teeth around Hanaa's leg and snapped it back into place. Hanaa let out a wail of pain.

"I Told you so!" Uru smiled, spitting out blood.

--------------------------------------------

Taka reached down for Mufasa's paw, but was still not able to reach it.

"Come on, Mufy," Taka groaned, "Just a little closer!"

Fortunately, Mufasa managed to climb a little higher and hook on to Taka's paw. Unfortuanately, Zira was almost within reach of Mufasa again, and Taka was not strong enough to pull him up.

"Come on!" Taka yelled to Sarabi and Sarafina, "Don't just sit there! Help me!"

"Oh...right!" both lioness cubs exclaimed in unison, running over to Taka and helping to pull Mufasa up slowly.

The three cubs pulled Mufasa with all their might, just barely pulling him on top of their ledge before Zira made one final slash for his leg. Zira slipped slightly before regaining her grip. Once Mufasa was safely on the ledge, all four cubs collapsed and breathed heavily.

"Now really, Mufasa," Taka smiled at his brother, "It wouldn't hurt to lose a few pounds!"

"It's called _muscle_," Mufasa laughed at his brother, "Something you would know nothing about!"

Mufasa and Sarabi laughed. Taka stood up and walked to the edge of the ledge sadly. Sarafina glared at Mufasa and Sarabi.

"Stop it, you two!" Sarafina growled at them, "You should be thanking Taka for saving your lives!"

"I could have managed without his help," Mufasa smiled and shrugged.

"Well," Taka laughed, "Next time you're hanging from a canyon wall, I'll be sure to remember that!"

The four cubs laughed and got up.

"Come on," Sarabi sighed, "We should get out of here."

Mufasa, Sarabi, and Sarafina ran started to run off, before noticing Taka sitting in the same spot, looking over the ledge.

"What's up Taka?" Mufasa asked his brother, slightly concerned.

"Zira," Taka replied with a sigh, "We can't just leave her here."

"Why not?" Sarafina asked curtly.

"Because it's not right," Taka stated.

"Look, Taka," Mufasa said to his brother with a large sigh, "Let's say we do help her. Whose to say she won't try to kill us afterward, like she always does?"

"Even if she does try to kill us," Taka groaned, "There are four of us and one of her. We can handle it."

Mufasa, Sarabi, and Sarafina sighed and nodded, agreeing with Taka's logic. Taka stood on the ledge's edge and reached down for Zira.

"Zira!" Taka called to the clinging cub, "Take my paw!"

Zira slashed at Taka's paw, causing her to slip slightly.

"Come on, Zira!" Taka shouted to Zira, "Please! I can help you! Just trust me!"

Zira slashed at Taka's paw again, causing her to slip even more. Zira looked down at the stanpede below her, which rendered her frozen with fear. With Zira distracted, Taka reached down and hooked her paw with his own. He then pulled her up quickly, resulting in Taka falling backward with Zira landing on top of him. Zira stared down at Taka in disbelief. Taka pushed Zira off of him.

"So," Sarabi growled at Zira, "Are you going to behave, or do we need to send you to the bottom of this canyon?"

Zira did not answer. She most likely did not even hear Sarabi, for she was still staring at Taka. Taka glanced at Zira and turned away.

"Alright," Taka sighed, addressing Sarabi, Sarafina, and Mufasa, "Now we can go."

The four cubs began to run off, but stopped when Zira called to them.

"Taka, wait!" Zira called to Taka, running after him.

Taka turned around to Zira and crouched down, extending his claws.

"What?" Taka growled, "Are you going to try killing me again? I've got no problem striking a lioness anymore!"

Zira hung her head and sighed.

"Thank you, Taka," she mumbled.

"Huh?" Taka asked in disbelief.

"Thank you, Taka," Zira said a bit louder, "Thank you for saving my life."

Taka sat still, shocked by Zira's unusual behavior. Before Taka could respond with a "Your welcome," Shakarri ponced up from behind Zira.

"Good, child," Shakarri smiled at Zira, "We've got them just where we want them!"

Shakarri stepped closer to the cubs, who were frozen with fear. Shakarri raised her arm and extended her claws, preparing to strike. Suddenly, Zira ran inbetween Shakarri and the other cubs.

"Zira, get out of the way!" Shakarri hissed at the small cub.

"...No," Zira replied coldly.

"What?" Shakarri growled in surprise, "You dare to disobey me?"

"They saved my life, grand-mother," Zira said timidly, "I wont let you hurt them!"

"Out of my way!" Shakarri raored as she slashed Zira away with her paw, knocking the small cub over several feet to the ground.

Taka, Mufasa, Sarabi, and Sarafina all growled at Shakarri, not believing what she had done to her grand-daughter. Sharkarri laughed and raised her paw again, preparing to finish the job, when suddenly, something caught her paw. Shakarri turned to see a large lioness, who was holding her back.

"Hello, Shakarri," Uru said dryly, before knocking Shakarri over with her forearm.

"Queen Uru!" Sarafina and Sarabi gasped quietly.

Shakarri looked up at the queen with fear, before getting to her feet and turning to Zira.

"Child," Shakarri snarled coldly at Zira, "You are no longer welcome in my den! You are weak!"

Zira hid behind her paws until Shakarri turned to Uru.

"Uru!" Shakarri growled, "Don't think that you've seen the last of me, because you most certainly have not!"

With that, Shakarri jumped to another ledge and ran away. Uru stuck her tongue out at Shakarri and turned her attention to the cubs.

"Are you alright?" Uru asked the cubs calmly.

All the cubs, except for Zira nodded. Taka ran up to his mother and smiled.

"Hi, mother," Taka laughed, overjoyed to see Uru again.

"Mother?" Sarafina and Sarabi gasped in shock, before turning to Mufasa, "You never told us your mother is the queen!"

"It never came up," Mufasa smiled, before running to Uru.

"Mother, mother!" Taka shouted with excitement, running over to the lioness cubs, "These are my new friends! This is Sarabi, and this is Sarafina!"

"That's wonderful Taka...wait," Uru smiled before frowning, "Did you say Sarafina?"

"That's me, my queen," Sarafina smiled, bowing to Uru.

"Sarafina," Uru said sadly, "I'm afraid your mother had a little accident."

Uru pointed to Hanaa, who was lying on the ground, moaning in pain.

"Mother!" Sarafina shouted sadly, "What happened?"

"The...the stampede," Hanaa replied painfully, "Oh, Sarafina! I'm so glad that you're okay!"

Hanaa held Sarafina close to her, cradling the small cub softly. Uru looked down at Mufasa and gasped.

"Mufasa!" Uru shouted in concern, "Your leg! It's bleeding!"

"Well, we have _her_ to thank for that!" Mufasa growled, pointing to Zira, who was sitting in a puddle of her own tears.

Uru frowned and walked over to Zira sadly. The queen sat next to the small cub and pulled her closer to her chest.

"Don't cry, little one," Uru whispered softly, "You can stay with us, in the royal den for a while!"

Zira looked up at Uru and smiled.

"But Mom!" Mufasa and Taka protested in unison.

"She's staying with us, and that's final," Uru said softly.

Mufasa and Taka glanced at each other and sighed.

"Now," Uru said cheerfully, "All we've got to do is wait out this stampede."

Taka looked over at Hanaa's broken leg.

_This is all my fault! _Taka thought to himself sadly.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Ahadi stood in front of the stampede, watching as the Pridelanders came closer and closer. He let out a roar, to which nobody paid any attention. This was one of the few moments that Ahadi felt helpless. Zuzu flew around in a panic, squacking and screaming.

"SIRE!" Zuzu screeched, "YOU MUST DO SOMETHING!"

"I'm trying!" Ahadi roared at the hornbill, knowing that anything he tried would be useless.

Suddenly, a large shadow loomed over Ahadi. Ahadi turned to see a large elephant.

"Kondo?" Ahadi growled, "What are you doing here?"

"Ending this, sire," Kondo replied, before trumpeting loudly.

The stampede stopped slowly, scared stiff be the loud trumpet produced by the gigantic elephant. Ahadi stared open-mouthed, in shock.

"All yours, sire," Kondo smiled.

"Ah...yes, thank you Kondo," Ahadi said before addressing the Pridelanders, "Listen up! There are no hyenas here! There never were! Now all of you go back home! If you see any corpses, carry them to Priderock and place them in a pile! We are going to have a mourning ceremony for this tragedy!"

The Pridelanders obeyed and turned around to go home.

"Kondo," Ahadi sighed,before walking away in search of Uru, "I wish I could pardon you. I really do."

Kondo sat down sadly, not knowing what Ahadi would do.

---------------------------------------------------

Ahadi and Zuzu arrived above the ledge that Uru, Hanaa and the cubs were on.

"Uru!" Ahadi shouted down at his mate with glee, "You're alright!"

"Ahadi!" Uru shouted up at the king, "I just knew you'd fix everything!"

Ahadi found some lionesses in the area to help Uru, Hanaa, and the cubs up. The group walked back to wards Priderock. On the way, Uru explained everything to Ahadi. About how she and Hanaa found a ledge, Shakarri attacking her, and how Zira had been disowned by Shakarri. Uru suggested that Zira stay whith them, to which Ahadi agreed. As they reached the royal den, Hanaa and Sarafina parted ways with the group. Soon, Sarabi's mother came to take her home, as well. Ahadi turned his attention to Mufasa.

"Are you alright?" Ahadi asked his son.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Mufasa smiled, "Thanks to Taka."

"What?" Ahadi gasped in shock, staring at Taka, "You're joking."

"No, really," Mufasa stated, "Taka saved all of us. He showed us where we could escape in the canyon, he helped me up the ledge, and he saved Zira from falling.

Ahadi sat thoughtfully for a moment, while Uru smiled down at Taka proudly.

"Mufasa," Ahadi said slowly, "You take Zira and go to the den. It's past your bed-time."

"Oh, but dad," Mufasa groaned, "I want to stay up for the mourning ceremony. If I'm going to be king, I should see as much as I can, right?"

"Mufasa," Ahadi sighed, "It is just not a sight for any cub, future kings or not. Now do as your told and take Zira to the den.

Mufasa groaned and showed Zira to the den. Ahadi started to follow them, but stopped in front of Taka. Without even looking at him, Ahadi patted Taka's head and ran off after the cubs. Taka looked at his mother in confusion.

"What was that all about?" Taka asked Uru.

"He's just proud of you for your good judgement, Taka," Uru explained, giving her cub an affectionate lick, "I'm proud of you, too."

A tear slid down Taka's face. The one tear soon became many, as Taka began to sob uncontrollably.

"You shouldn't be proud of me!" Taka cried, looking at the large pile of carcasses below Priderock, "It's all my fault!"

Uru stared at her cub as Taka explained everything that happened. She held Taka close to her breast, rocking him back and forth.

"Taka...please don't cry," Uru said softly, "These things happen. I'm sure you didn't know that Kondo would do something that extreme. It's not you're fault!"

"Yes...it...is!" Taka sobbed even louder, "I'm a murderer!"

"No, Taka," Uru said gently, "You're not a murderer. You saved your brother's life today. You should be happy, not miserable. Don't worry. I understand. It was an accident."

"Father's going to kill me!" Taka sobbed.

"...No," Uru replied in a whisper, "Your father will never know! I promise!"

Taka looked up at his mother through his tears. Suddenly, a voice came from behind them.

"Lying to your mate?" the voice chuckled, "That's very serious."

Uru turned to see Guedado, standing with and antelope in his claws. Uru noticed the antelope was covered in hoof-prints.

"How long have you been there?" Uru asked Guedado in shock.

"Long enough," Guedado replied casually, "Oh don't worry, I won't tell my nephew."

Uru and Taka gave a sigh of relief.

"You see, I know that it was all just an accident," Guedado stated, before staring at Taka and adding in a cold tone, "But that doesn't make it any less the cub's fault!"

Guedado ran off as Uru gave a look of shock. Taka began to cry again.

"Don't worry about what he says, Taka," Uru said to her cub reasuringly, "He's old. With any luck, he'll be dead soon!"

Taka gave a small laugh. Uru smiled down at her son.

"Come, Taka," Uru said casually, "There is something you must see."

Taka followed Uru to an area where the bodies of two hyenas lay dead, with their tongues flopping out and their eyes a listless shade of gray. Taka stared at them in shock.

"Taka," Uru said plainly, "There really were hyenas. These two happen to be two of the most dangerous hyenas in the world. And thanks to the stampede, the are no more."

"Do you know them, Mother?" Taka asked curiously.

"I've...crossed paths with them before," Uru said sadly, "But that is a story for another time. Now let's go back home."

Taka followed Uru to the royal den and walked inside, before turning to Uru and speaking.

"Mother?" Taka asked Uru, "What will happen to Mr. Kondo?"

"I don't know, Taka," Uru sighed sadly, "Hopefully nothing too horrible."

Uru ran off, leaving Taka, Mufasa, and Zira alone in the cave. Taka lied down next to the two other cubs. Zira snuggled up to Taka slowly. In Taka's arms, Zira was truly never more happy in her life.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Guedado ran to an area that was far-off from the Pridelands. He looked around, finally seeing the creature he was looking for. It was sitting alone on a rock, staring at the stars. As Guedado approached, the creature looked down at him and smiled.

"So, Guedado," the cackling voice laughed, "What news do you bring of the Pridelands?"

"Not good, Issa," Guedado replied, "Jabari and Asani are dead. They were trampled by a stampede."

"Not a huge loss, I suppose," Issa sighed, shaking his head, "Anything else?"

"No," Guedado stated.

"You may leave, then," Issa cackled.

Guedado ran off, only turning back to shout to Issa.

"Just make sure you hold up to your end of the bargain!" Guedado called to the hyena.

Issa merely cackled.

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_Please review! I was so upset when nobody reviewed my last chapter!_


	8. In Search of Adventure

_Well, my story is wrapping up pretty soon. But don't worry! The sequel will come soon! I decided to have two stories instead of one because I don't want any of my stories to be too long. Although, I'm planning on righting a different story first. So, only a few more chapters of this story(Plus maybe an afterthought thingy) before I get started on my next one! This chapter takes place a little more than a week after the stampede. _

_----------------------------------------------------------------------_

In Search of Adventure

Mufasa woke up with a yawn and stretched. He looked outside the den to see that the sun was already up. Mufasa groaned as he walked outside.

"Oh, man!" Mufasa sighed to himself, "I hope I didn't miss breakfast!"

Mufasa ran back into the den to wake up Taka.

"Taka!" Mufasa shouted as he ran back into the den, "Taka, wake u..."

Mufasa looked around to see that Taka was nowhere to be found. The only company Mufasa had in the den was Zira, who was fast asleep.

"Zira!" Mufasa shouted at lioness cub, "Zira, wake up!"

Zira opened one eye, for it was all that she needed to glare at Mufasa.

"Buzz off!" Zira growled as she closed her eye and turned to face the wall.

"Zira, wake up!" Mufasa shouted again, rocking her back and forth with his paws, "It's an emergency!"

"I don't care!" Zira growled again without even glancing at Mufasa.

"But Zira," Mufasa groaned, "It's Taka! I can't find him!"

Zira immediately jumped to her feet and looked around the den. After seeing that Taka was not in the den, she became worried and ran over to Mufasa, forcing the golden cub up against a wall.

"Where is he?" Zira cried.

"I...don't know," Mufasa replied, a bit surprised with Zira's reaction to Taka not being in the den, "I was hoping that you would know where he is."

"We've got to find him!" Zira shouted in a worried tone, "What if he's lost? What if he's hurt? What if my grand-mother got him?"

"Zira, I'm sure he's o..." Mufasa started, being cut off by Zira running away and screaming.

Mufasa rolled his eyes and ran after Zira.

"TAKA!" Zira screamed as she ran, "TAKA! TAKA!"

"What?" came a voice from behind Zira.

Zira stopped running and turned around to see Taka on a rock, getting a bath from Uru. Zira ran over to Taka and pounced on him, knocking him off the rock to the ground.

"Oh, Taka!" Zira laughed happily, "I was so worried! I had no idea where you were and..."

"Ugh...Zira!" Taka groaned in an annoyed tone, "Now I need another bath!"

Uru groaned, as well.

"Oh...I'm sorry," Zira said apologetically, "It's just Mufasa woke me up because..."

"Mufy!" Taka snapped at his brother, "Why would you wake Zira up? I barely get a break from her when she's asleep!"

Mufasa smiled and shrugged. Zira hung her head and began to walk away sadly. Taka sighed and ran after her. He jumped in front of her and stared at the ground.

"Come on, Zira," Taka sighed, "I was only joking. And you have to admit, you are a bit...annoying."

"Yeah...I guess," Zira replied, putting on a fake smile.

Taka looked back at Zira, walked back over to Uru, and jumped in his mother's paws. Uru sighed and continued bathing Taka with her tongue.

"So..." Mufasa said to his mother, "Did we miss breakfast?"

"No," Uru smiled.

Mufasa smiled up at his mother.

"That is to say," Uru continued with a laugh, "_We _didn't miss breakfast. You and Zira did. Me and Taka ate already!"

Uru and Taka both laughed at the joke. Mufasa groaned.

"It's not funny," Mufasa stated, "I'm starving!"

Taka mumbled something that Mufasa could have only guessed was "What else is new?"

"Well," Uru smiled, as she dropped a zebra-leg in front of Mufasa, "There are leftovers."

Mufasa smiled and ripped into the zebra-leg with his teeth and claws. Zira sat next to Mufasa and looked down at the zebra-leg. Mufasa looked up at Zira and smiled.

"You want some?" Mufasa asked Zira, his mouth still full.

Zira shook her head, even though she began taking bites out of the leg.

"There we go," Uru said to Taka, giving him one final lick, "All clean."

Taka jumped down from his mother and ran off.

"Where are you going?" Uru called to Taka.

"Pride rock," Taka replied, before disappearing in the distance.

Uru sighed and turned to Mufasa. When he was done eating, Uru picked him up and started cleaning him with her tongue.

"Ugh!" Mufasa groaned, "What are you doing?"

"Cleaning you," Uru replied, "You're filthy! Now hold still."

Zira giggled, watching as Mufasa tried to struggle away from Uru.

"And, we're done!" Uru smiled at Mufasa, "Now was that really so bad?"

"Yep," Mufasa said plainly, jumping from his mother's paws and running up to Zira.

"You're next, Zira," Uru smiled at the lioness cub.

Zira nodded and jumped into Uru's paws. To Zira, having a bath was a nice feeling. Shakarri had never even bothered to bathe her when Zira was in her care, most likely because Shakarri did not even take how Zira felt into consideration. Zira finally had a care-taker who actually took care of her, rather than use her as a pawn.

"Okay," Uru smiled, "You're clean."

Zira smiled and jumped down from Uru's paws and looked around as a voice came from behind her.

"Hey, Mufasa!" the voice shouted.

Mufasa and Zira turned around to see Sarafina and Sarabi running over to them. The two lioness cubs reached Mufasa and sat down.

"Hey, Mufasa," Sarabi smiled, "You've just gotten a bath, I see."

"Shut up," Mufasa smiled back, brushing his fur back with his paw.

"Where's Taka?" Sarafina asked Mufasa.

"He said he was going to Pride rock," Zira responded.

"I didn't ask _you_, I asked Mufasa!" Sarafina snapped at Zira, who backed away sadly.

"Sorry," Zira said quietly.

"So Taka's at Pride rock?" Sarabi asked Mufasa.

"That's where he said he was going," Mufasa replied.

"Okay," Sarafina smiled, "Let's go find him! I'm sure he could use some company!"

"Good idea," Mufasa agreed, "Ever since the stampede, I've been getting the feeling that he's upset about something."

Sarafina and Sarabi glanced at each other, and then at the ground, avoiding Mufasa's gaze. Uru looked up at the sky and scratched her neck, pretending to not hear Mufasa's statement.

"So, what are we waiting for?" Mufasa asked happily, "Let's go!"

"Okay," Sarabi and Sarafina said in unison, running ahead of Mufasa.

"Bye, mom!" Mufasa called to Uru as he ran after his friends.

Uru smiled as she watched the cubs run to wards Pride rock. She looked down at Zira, who was sitting alone.

"Go," Uru laughed as she nudged Zira, "Taka is your friend, too."

Zira smiled up at Uru before running off after the other cubs.

"Finally," Uru sighed, "Some quiet!"

"QUEEN URU! QUEEN URU!" a familiar hornbill-voice squawked.

_Well, _Uru thought to herself_, That was short!_

_------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _

Taka sat alone at the edge of Pride rock, thinking of everything that had happened thanks to him over the course of a week. He thought of everything carefully, from causing a stampede, to the pile of bodies that seemed to reach the top of Pride rock. Not to mention, Kondo's exile from the Pride Lands, for a crime that the elephant wouldn't even have committed, if Taka had not played that stupid trick on him. Taka was beginning to feel sick. Everything seemed to be his fault. For a moment, Taka thought of just jumping from the top of Pride rock, and putting a stop to anything other evil he would unleash upon the world. And he almost did it. He was bracing to jump, when he heard his brother's voice from behind him.

"Taka!" Mufasa called, "There you are! What are you doing up here?"

Taka turned around to see Mufasa, Sarabi, Sarafina, and Zira behind him. The four cubs walked over to Taka and sat next to him.

"I...was just thinking," Taka replied slowly, "About the stampede."

"You shouldn't let it get to you, Taka," Mufasa smiled at Taka, "Guedado says that bad things sometimes happen. You shouldn't worry about it. Hakuna matata."

"What?" Taka asked his brother in confusion.

"Hakuna matata," Mufasa smiled, "It means that there are no worries here. I learned that from our grand-uncle."

_Guedado, _Taka thought to himself, _I don't care much for Guedado. Something about him just seems...strange. Why is he here? Could he really have come just to die here? No, he must have another motive. And I'm going to find out what it is? Hakuna matata, huh? A life without worries. Sounds lovely. If only it was that simple!_

"I see," Taka said plainly, no longer paying attention to Mufasa.

Taka looked forward at the land in front of him. He noticed some areas were covered in shadows.

"Those shadows," Taka said quietly.

"What about them?" Mufasa asked, knowing well what Taka was looking at.

"Why are there shadows over there?" Taka asked his brother, a sense of wonder in his voice, "Father must have told you at some point."

"He just said that we aren't allowed to go there," Mufasa shrugged, "It's not our land."

"Whose land is it?" Taka asked

"I...don't know, exactly," Mufasa replied, "He said it's not that great, anyway."

"I think it looks beautiful," Taka stated with little emotion, admiring the shadows.

Mufasa thought for a minute. He then got an idea and sat in front of Taka.

"I wonder what's out there," Mufasa said, shooting his brother a mischievous grin.

For the first time in over a week, Taka smiled. Mufasa turned to the rest of the group and laughed.

"What do you guys think?" Mufasa smiled, "Should we go check it out?"

The three lioness cubs all nodded excitedly.

"How about you, Taka?" Mufasa asked, overjoyed by his brother's smile, "You feel like having an adventure?"

"Hmm," Taka replied with a nod.

The five cubs ran down Pride rock, all thinking about the great adventure that they were about to have.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Issa awoke from his sleep with a jump.

"Something wrong, Issa?" a large hyena with a hyena cub in his paws asked.

Issa looked up at the hyena in shock.

"Sir!" Issa gasped, "It's time! They're coming!"

The large hyena looked up from the hyena cub and smiled wickedly.

"Perfect!" the hyena cackled to wards the sky, "Soon, Sauda. You will be avenged!"

--------------------------------------------------------------------

"What is it, Zuzu?" Uru asked the small hornbill.

"Sire is going to kill me!" Zuzu wailed, "You see, I was on my way to give Ahadi the morning report, when I bumped into the most handsome hornbill. As we recovered from our fall, he asked me if I'd like to fly about the kingdom with him. I, of course, said that I was simply too busy, but he insisted and...well, his eyes."

Zuzu stopped squawking and sighed happily.

"And?" Uru asked, slightly perturbed, "Then what happened?"

"Well," Zuzu continued, "I agreed to fly around the kingdom, but only for a few minutes. Minutes soon turned into hours."

"Oh, I see," Uru sighed, "You missed the report because you were with this handsome hornbill."

"Yes," Zuzu said sadly, "And when Ahadi finds me, he's going to be furious. But it was worth it! I could see myself spending my whole life with...well, he didn't give me his name."

"You must be looking forward to the children," Uru smiled at Zuzu.

"No," Zuzu sighed, "If I have to be watching after children every day, I won't be able to undertake my duties as the king's majordomo. Children are a horrible curse, you know."

Uru growled at Zuzu, who backed away slowly.

"Um...but of course not your children," Zuzu said sheepishly, "They're perfect!"

Uru sat up and stared at Zuzu.

"So, what are you going to tell Ahadi?" Uru asked Zuzu.

"I was hoping you would...," Zuzu smiled at the queen, "You know, just tell him that you sent me on an errand of some sort, so I won't get fired?"

Uru groaned. Suddenly, five cubs ran up to Uru and Zuzu and smiled.

"Hi Mom!" Mufasa smiled up at Uru, "Would it be alright if me and my friends took a trip to that canyon we stayed in during the stampede? We think that it would be a good place to explore."

Uru looked down at all the smiling cubs. Even Taka was smiling, which Uru thought was odd.

_Why would Taka be happy about going to the canyon? _Uru thought to herself _I'd think that he'd never want to revisit any memory of the stampede. There's something they're not telling me._

"I don't know" Uru sighed, "It seems a little too dangerous."

"Please?" all the cubs smiled at once.

"Oh, just let them go, Uru," Zuzu squawked, "If they get themselves killed, it will be their own fault."

Uru glared at Zuzu, and then smiled as she got an idea.

"Alright, you can go," Uru smiled at the cubs.

The cubs cheered and thanked Uru as they began to run off.

"And," Uru added, "Zuzu will accompany you."

The cubs stopped in their tracks, groaned, and started mumbling to each other.

"WHAT?" Zuzu squawked in surprise, "And why would I do that?"

"Because," Uru smiled down at Zuzu, "If you don't, I'll tell Ahadi that you skipped you're report to go on a date!"

"You wouldn't!" Zuzu gasped.

"Of course I would!" Uru smiled, "I've got nothing to lose by telling Ahadi. Except, of course, the sound of your incessant squawking! Now, take the cubs to the canyon and make sure that they stay safe! And if any of them come back with even one scratch on their nose, you'll be out of a job!"

Zuzu sat open-mouthed in shock, before flying up to the cubs.

"Very well," Zuzu sighed, "Let's be on a way, then."

The five cubs followed Zuzu as she flew off.

"Two birds, one stone," Uru smiled to herself as Zuzu and the cubs disappeared from view.

"So much for an adventure," Taka sighed, his smile fading.

-----------------------------------------------------------

The cubs arrived at the canyon and climbed on a ledge. They whispered to each other as Zuzu circled high overhead.

"Well," Taka groaned, "What are we going to do now? Just sit here for a few hours?"

"We could always just go back," Sarabi suggested.

"No," Mufasa sighed, shaking his head, "Then my mom might think that we were planning something."

"We _were _planning something!" Zira chimed in.

"No one asked your opinion, Zira," Sarafina yawned.

Zira glared at Sarafina and attempted to spit in her face, but Sarfina ducked, causing the spit to hit Taka. The four cubs stared at Taka, waiting for his reaction, but Taka merely yawned and turned away. Suddenly, Taka leaped up happily.

"That's it!" Taka exclaimed.

"What?" Mufasa asked his brother in confusion.

"I know how we can see what's in that shadowy place!" Taka replied with a smile.

"How?" Sarabi asked.

"By going through _that_," Taka replied, pointing to a hole in the canyon, just large enough for a cub to fit through.

"That wouldn't work, Taka," Mufasa explained,looking at the hole, "We'd get caught for sure!"

"Yeah," Sarafina added, "Have you forgotten about Zuzu?"

"Just leave Zuzu to me!" Taka laughed, "Now here's the plan!"

The cubs gathered around Taka as he explained how they would get past Zuzu.

---------------------------------------------------

"Zuzu! Hey, Zuzu!" Taka called to the hornbill, who immediately swooped down in front of Taka.

"What is it?" Zuzu asked in a worried tone, "Did something happen? Are you hurt? Oh, Uru will have my head!"

"No, I'm fine," Taka replied with a smile, "I just want to ask you something. You didn't report to my dad this morning, right?"

"Correct," Zuzu said shamefully, "I was a bit...preoccupied."

The five cubs circled around Zuzu and laughed.

"Yeah, right!" Mufasa laughed.

"I bet you didn't even go on patrol this morning!" Zira added.

"Some majordomo you are!" Sarafina giggled.

"Pathetic!" Sarabi smirked.

"How dare you?" Zuzu gasped in shock, looking around as the cubs circled her, "I would never miss a patrol!"

"Just like you'd never miss a report?" Taka chuckled.

"You shut your mouth, you little..." Zuzu snapped at Taka.

"Oh, I'm so scared!" Taka laughed sarcastically, "Somebody! Save me from the scary dodo-bird! Couldn't even complete something as simple as a patrol!"

"FOR THE THOUSANDTH TIME!" Zuzu shrieked, "I COMPLETED ME PATROL!"

"Oh, really?" Taka smirked as he and the other cubs stopped circling Zuzu and sat down, leaving Taka in front of Zuzu and the others behind her, "Prove it! Tell me what you saw this morning!"

"Fine!" Zuzu squawked beginning her report, "Well, the giraffes and elephants seem to be having some sort of dispute over..."

Taka smiled over to the other four cubs as Zuzu continued her report. As he shot them a wink, they slowly walked off and squeezed through the hole. Taka stared at Zuzu, waiting for her to finish.

"...And that is why you should never leave crocodiles alone with ostriches," Zuzu said, taking a breath, "See? I told you that I went on patrol!"

"I should not have doubted you, Zuzu," Taka smiled at the hornbill, before putting on a fake look of shock, "Oh, no! Where are the others?"

Zuzu turned around to see that the other cubs were missing.

"NO!" Zuzu cried flapping around, "WHERE DID THEY GO? OH, QUEEN URU IS GOING TO KILL ME!"

When Zuzu turned away from Taka and flapped her wings, Taka rammed her with his shoulder, knocking the hornbill into the canyon wall. Zuzu lay still, out cold. Taka laughed and squeezed through the hole to join the other cubs.

"Taka," Mufasa smiled as Taka squeezed through the hole, "It's times like these that I am proud to call you my brother!"

Taka smiled back, and the five cubs ran off to wards the shadowy area.

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The five cubs stepped into the shadows and looked around.

"Doesn't look like much," Mufasa commented, seeing nothing but wasteland, "Maybe if we go a bit further."

Taka and the lioness cubs nodded and followed Mufasa. There was something special about this place. Taka could feel it. Zira's ear twitched.

"Guys," Zira said nervously, "I think there's something watching us!"

The other four cubs stopped walking and looked around, seeing nothing but twigs and termite mounds.

"It's just your imagination, Zira," Mufasa said calmly.

"Scardy-cat!" Sarafina whispered to Sarabi.

Zira's ear twitched again.

"I really think..." Zira began.

"Look, Zira," Taka smiled at Zira, "If you're scared, you can just say so."

"I'm not scared!" Zira said defensively, "But I really think something is following us!"

The four cubs ignored Zira and kept walking. Once again, Zira's ear twitched. This time, rather than telling her friends, she walked off in the direction of the sound. Not noticing her disappearing, the other four cubs continued on. Soon, a scream rose up from behind them. All four cubs recognized, the scream to be Zira's.

"Zira?" Taka asked quietly, turning around to see that Zira was missing.

The four cubs gave each other worried glances.

"ZIRA!" Taka called loudly, "ZIRA, WHERE ARE YOU?"

"Over here," replied a weak voice.

"Where?" Mufasa asked looking around.

"Here!" Zira called again.

The four cubs looked around and walked in the direction of Zira's voice. All at once, they slipped and tumbled down the edge of their path, letting out cries of surprise. They rolled down to the bottom and got up slowly. Taka looked up to see Zira standing over him.

"Zira!" Taka exclaimed, happy that his friend was alive, "Are you hurt?"

"N...n...no," Zira said nervously.

"Then why did you scream?" Sarafina asked, slightly annoyed.

Zira pointed to her left.The other cubs turned to see a gigantic torn-up elephant carcass. Taka's eyes widened.

"Kondo!" Taka gasped quietly to himself, " Oh, no! This is all my fault!"

"Wow!" Mufasa gasped, "Look at all these huge bones!"

The cubs looked around at the piles of skeletons that surrounded them.

"I wonder what caused all this," Sarafina said curiously.

"Something horrible," Sarabi responded, still in awe of sheer number of skeletons.

"Whoa," Mufasa smiled, "This is pretty cool."

The other cubs nodded. Even Taka had to admit that it was cool. The cubs resumed walking, seeing more and more bones as with every step they took. They soon came upon a clear area, which was about the only one not covered in bones. They looked around themselves, seeing a circle of elephant skulls that seemed to surround them.

"This place is awesome!" Mufasa laughed, "I wonder why dad said it was dangerous. There's nothing here but bones!"

The sound of cackles filled the air. The cubs froze in fear as hundreds of hyenas surrounded them. A large hyena, one that was almost the size of a full-grown lion, stepped forward with a hyena cub in his mouth. He placed the cub down and smiled at the lion cubs.

"Now," the hyena laughed down at the lion cubs, "What are five lion cubs, such as yourselves, be doing in such a dangerous area? You could get hurt! I guess Ahadi never taught you that trespassing is wrong,eh Mufasa?"

"Ho...how do you know my name?" Mufasa gasped in complete fear, "Who are you?"

The large hyena paced back and forth, barring his teeth at Mufasa. The Pride-lander cubs looked around as the hyenas stepped closer and closer.

"Who am I?" the hyena laughed, "Why, I am Akida! The soon-to-be ruler of the Pride Lands!"

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_Review. PLEASE! I need your pinion to keep this story going!  
_


	9. The Elephant Graveyard

_Please Review. Forgive typos! Enjoy! But honestly, review.  
_

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The Elephant Graveyard

Akida circled around the five cubs, waiting for any kind of reaction. The cubs just stared at him with no more fear than before he had introduced himself.

"Surely Ahadi has told you about the great Akida!" Akida gasped, "The supreme lord of the hyenas? The greatest creature ever to walk to earth? The one who all others live in fear of? "

All five cubs shook their heads slowly. Akida snorted and paced around the cubs.

"Why?" Mufasa asked the large hyena, "Should we have heard of you?"

"SHOULD YOU HAVE HEARD OF ME?" Akida howled loudly, "YES, YOU SHOULD HAVE HEARD OF ME!"

"Why?" Zira piped up.

Akida merely groaned and turned to the army of hyenas.

"I've had enough of this," Akida sighed, "Just kill them already."

Hundreds of drooling hyenas advanced to wards the five cubs, who closed their eyes tightly in fear.

"Wait!" one of the hyenas called, stepping in front of the cubs.

"What is the meaning of this, Issa?" Akida growled.

The cubs opened their eyes to see Issa standing over them. Issa walked up to Akida and smiled.

"Have you no vision, sir?" Issa asked Akida, "These cubs could be most useful to our cause!"

"How so?" Akida asked, intrigued by Issa's statement.

"Sir," Issa smiled, "What we've got here is the heir to the thrown! Imagine what Ahadi would give to get him back! Don't you remember how close we came last time? The kingdom would have been ours, if it hadn't been for that damn lioness escaping!"

The lion cubs' eyes widened. Akida smiled widely.

"You are a wise one, Issa," Akida smiled, "But I fail to see how the other cubs can benefit us."

"Simple," Issa smiled, "We feed them to the prisoners!"

"What?" Akida gasped in shock, "We don't even have a scrap of food for ourselves, and you want to feed _those_ ingrates!

"The prisoners are starving," Issa explained, "They will make sure that the cubs suffer, just as all lions should!"

The army of hyenas cheered and laughed.

"Feed them to the prisoners!" the hyenas chanted as the cubs shook with fear.

Akida looked around and smiled.

"Very well!" Akida cackled, before calling upon certain hyenas, "Thimba! Ajia! Eruvu! Come!"

Thimba, Eruvu and Ajia immediately sprinted to Akida's side.

"Boss?" Thimba smiled.

"Thimba," Akida addressed the scar-covered hyena, "You, Ajia, and Issa are to take the cubs to the prisoners. Leave Mufasa to me."

Mufasa backed away timidly, backing into a hyena's leg. As Mufasa looked up, drool splashed him in the face. He tried to run away, but Akida stopped him in his tracks.

"Listen here, you little bastard!" Akida whispered in Mufasa's ear, pointing to the piles of elephant carcasses, "You even think of running, and you'll end up like all these elephants! Do I make myself clear?"

Mufasa nodded timidly.

"Good," Akida smiled, before looking to wards Issa, Thimba, Eruvu, and Ajia.

"Are you still here?" Akida asked coldly, "GO!"

The fours hyenas immediately picked up a screaming cub each and ran off.

"MUFASA!" Taka called as he was carried off.

"TAKA!" Mufasa called back, tears streaming down his face.

"Touching," Akida smiled down at the grieving cub, "Now come."

Mufasa followed Akida as the large hyena went to pick up his cub. The cub rolled out of Akida's reach.

"Dad?" the hyena cub said quietly, "Can I just go with Issa? I really like to see the lion cubs torn apart!"

Mufasa grimaced at the hyena cubs comment. Akida shook his head.

"No, Shenzi," Akida said to his daughter, "It's too dangerous to follow them without an escort."

"Please, Dad," Shenzi pleaded, "I'm so bored! There hasn't been a good scrape in weeks!"

Suddenly, a large vulture landed next to Akida with a small horn-bill in her claws.

"Hello, Nyoni," Akida smiled at the vulture, before looking down at the horn-bill, "What have we here?"

The horn-bill looked up at Mufasa and smiled weakly.

"Oh, Mufasa," Zuzu coughed, "Run! Get out of here!"

"Silence!" Akida growled, making sure that Mufasa was staying put, "Nyoni, take the horn-bill to the prisoners. I'm sure that they will have _lots_ of fun with her!"

"So I can go?" Shenzi smiled at her father.

"What?" Akida asked in confusion.

"You said that I couldn't go because I wouldn't have an escort," Shenzi explained to her father, "Well, now I do. Nyoni can be my escort. So can I pleas go, now?"

"Alright," Akida sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, "I suppose that would be alright. Just be careful."

"I will," Shenzi laughed, running off.

"Wait!" Akida called as Shenzi disappeared in the distance, "Nyoni, you make sure that she stays safe!"

Nyoni shrieked and flapped her wings before flying after Shenzi, carrying Zuzu in hr talons.

"Now," Akida groaned, looking down at Mufasa, "Come."

Mufasa followed Akida and his army, crying more and more with every step.

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Issa and his group arrived at a large chasm and dropped he cubs. On by one, they pushed the cubs and laughed as they watched them tumble to the bottom.

"Good idea, Issa!" Thimba laughed, "That fool, Akida, doesn't suspect a thing! I just hope our friends know what to do. I'm beginning to think that they might actually eat the cubs!"

"Well," Issa smiled, "Even if they don't, it's no loss to us!"

The group of hyenas laughed and started to walk away, before seeing a small hyena cub running to wards them.

"Hey, guys!" Shenzi called as she reached the adult hyenas.

"Oh, great," Ajia whispered to Issa with a groan, "It's Shenzi."

Issa rolled his eyes as Shenzi jumped on his back.

"Hi, Issa," Shenzi laughed, "I came to see the action."

"Well," Issa smiled before stepping close to the chasm and tossing Shenzi down into the abyss, "Here's a closer look!"

Shenzi screams stopped being audible within a matter of seconds. The three hyenas cackled.

"Finally," Ajia laughed, "We're rid of that pest!"

Nyoni landed next to the hyenas and dropped Zuzu into the chasm. The three hyenas stared at the vulture in shock. Nyoni smiled and flew away.

"Shit," Issa snarled, "If that bird tells Akida what we've done, we're as good as dead!"

The three hyenas ran after the vulture, hoping to stop it from reaching Akida before they did.

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Taka and his friends landed at the bottom of the chasm with a loud thud. They all stood up and shook off the dust from their bodies. The cubs jumped with shook as a geyser of flames ascended into the air, making a large group of hyenas visible. The hyenas looked down at the cubs and began stepping to wards them, drool dripping from their mouths.

"What have we here?" a hyena laughed stepping close to the cubs, "I didn't know that we could have our food delivered!"

The cubs sank back as the hyenas came closer and closer. Suddenly, a small hyena cub landed on the hyena who was in the front, causing it to fall forward. The hyena got up and stared at the hyena cub, smiling widely.

"Well," the hyena cackled, "If it isn't Akida's little girl, Shenzi! You have no idea how long I've been waiting to sink my teeth into you!"

Shenzi back away in fear, putting herself next to the cubs. The hyena prepared to strike, but was stopped by a cold, raspy voice.

"Wait, Kimondo!" the voice echoed.

Kimondo turned to see a large, black hyena standing behind him.

"No, Kivuli!" Kimondo snarled at the black hyena, "I saw them first! You can't have them!"

"Don't be an idiot," Kivuli growled at Kimondo, "I have no interest in eating them! Don't you see? If Shenzi is down here, that must mean that the cubs weren't thrown down by Akida. It must've been Issa! One of these must be the lion Issa saw in his vision! The one who will free us from Akida's tyranny!"

"Oh, that Issa!" Shenzi growled, "He'll pay for throwing me down here!"

"Shut it!" Kivuli snapped at Shenzi, who shivered in a corner with the lion cubs.

"So what if one of these is that cub?" Kimondo asked, "Why should that stop us from eating Shenzi?"

Kivuli shrugged. Kimondo advanced to wards Shenzi. He was about to strike when a one-eared hyena landed in front of him and growled. Kimodo sat down with a confused expression.

"You shall not harm Shenzi!" the one-eared hyena growled.

"Why do you defend her, Jozi?" Kimondo asked, completely confused, "I would have thought that you'd do anything to make Akida suffer, after what he did to you're sister."

"It's true!" Jozi snapped back, "I'd like nothing more than to see Akida suffer! But...even I could never see Shenzi hurt. Even if she is Akida's, she is still my niece. And I will do anything I can to protect her!"

"You've gone soft, Jozi!" Kimondo laughed, advancing even further.

Jozi lunged at Kimondo, pinning him against a wall.

"Easy, Jozi," Kivuli said casually, "I'm sure Kimondo was just kidding. Weren't you, Kimondo?"

Kimondo nodded vigorously. Jozi sighed and walked over to Shenzi, releasing Kimondo.

"Are you hurt?" Jozi asked Shenzi in concern.

"No..." Shenzi replied slowly, "...Who are you?"

"I am..." Jozi stated, with a tear sliding down his cheek, "..I am nobody. Nobody."

"Anyway," Kivuli said, rolling his eyes, "One of these cubs must be our salvation. According to Issa, the lion will have a mane as black as night, with a blackened heart to match."

"Well," Kimondo said thoughtfully, "To my knowledge, only male lions have manes. And there is only one male cub here."

Kimondo yanked Taka over to Kivuli by the head.

"Ugh," Taka grunted in pain.

"Leave him alone!" Sarafina growled at Kimondo.

A group of hyenas surrounded the three lioness cubs and circled them, preparing to strike.

"No," Kivuli addressed the group of hyenas, "Leave them be. We'll need them alive, or else the cub might not obey us.

"What do you want with me?" Taka growled at Kivuli.

"Nothing much...at the moment," Kivuli smiled down at Taka, "Just to help us get out of here."

Taka paced back and forth, thinking of what to do.

"Fine," Taka growled, "I'll help you. Now release my friends!"

"No," Kivuli said plainly, "I'm all about leverage over others. You can have your friends back after you free us."

Taka sighed and nodded. Kivuli smiled widely.

"Good lion," Kivuli said, stroking Taka's head before turning to the hyenas, "Kimondo, Jozi. You come with me. In my old age I might not be able to handle the cub by myself."

Kimondo and Jozi nodded and stepped forward.

"Wait," Taka said quietly, "This isn't fair."

"Life's not fair," Kivuli laughed, "Especially not for hyenas. I mean, come on! We live in such a dark place, but it still manages to be hot as hell!"

"I understand," Taka stated calmly, "You have every right to feel upset with what you've been given. But I have every right to have leverage over you."

"And just why the hell would we give you leverage over us?" Kimondo snapped, "We could kill you right now!"

"And then you'd be stuck here forever," Taka said with a cocky smile , "Didn't you say something about me being your salvation?"

Kimodo roared and scratched at the ground in frustration. Kivuli laughed.

"The cub is right," Kivuli cackled, before turning to Taka, "But what more could you possibly need for leverage? You already have the knowledge that if we kill you we'll surely die down here."

"That's not enough," Taka replied casually, "You made this personal by taking my friends prisoner. I'm offering a compromise. Cubs for cubs. I'll allow you to keep my friends until I free you. You must do the same, and allow me to keep any hyena cubs in my possession until I free you."

"I like this cub!" Kivuli cackled, "He's got spunk!"

"So, do we have a deal then?" Taka asked calmly.

"Only if you allow the cub's parents to come with us," Kivuli replied, "I give you my word that you will not be harmed...as long as you don't harm the cubs."

"I accept you're terms," Taka replied with a nod.

"This deal is becoming quite complicated!" Kimondo whispered to Jozi.

"Alright!" Kivuli called to the hyenas, "Anyone who has cubs would best present them now!"

Kimondo groaned and tossed a cub in front of Kivuli. Jozi picked Shenzi up gently and carried her over to Kivuli. Taka stared at the cubs for a moment, before turning to Kivuli.

"Is this it?" Taka asked in surprise, "Out of all the hyenas here, there are only two cubs?"

"Most of the cubs down here died of starvation," Kimondo explained, before stepping over his cub and snarling, "If only starvation had taken this clumsy failure!"

The hyena cub covered it's head with it's paws and whimpered. Shenzi stepped slowly over to Kimondo and growled at him.

"Leave him alone!" Shenzi snarled.

"Why should I?" Kimondo laughed.

"Because," Kivuli said on Shenzi's behalf, "He's no more of a clumsy failure than you are! Or have you forgotten why you're down here?"

Kimondo hissed at Kivuli. Kivuli stepped forward and growled. Kimondo decided to just sit down and shut up. Shenzi helped Kimondo's cub up.

"You okay?" Shenzi asked the hyena cub.

"Yeah...I'm fine," the cub replied, getting to his feet, "Thanks."

"No problem," Shenzi smiled, "I'm Shenzi, by the way."

"Banzai," the hyena cub replied weakly, finally turning to see Shenzi's face.

_She's beautiful! _Banzai thought to himself_ Why, though? Why would someone like her stick up for me?_

"Banzai," Shenzi smiled, "That's a nice name."

_Whoa! _Banzai thought to himself, _She likes my name! Awesome!_

"So," Taka continued, "There are no more cubs, then?"

"Well," Kivuli replied carefully, "There is one more more. But..."

Kivuli lifted his leg to reveal a crazy-eyed hyena cub. The cub laughed madly and ran around Kivuli in circles.

"...What the hell is that?" Taka asked.

"He is my son!" Kivuli growled in an offended tone, "And I'm very proud of him!"

The crazy-eyed hyena cub bit into his fathers leg.

"Argh!" Kivuli growled in pain, before striking the cub off with the back of his paw, "Dammit, Ed! What have I told you about chewing on my leg!"

Ed got up, laughed wildly, and began to gnaw on his own leg. Kivuli rolled his eyes and turned to Taka.

"Shall we go, now?" Kivuli sighed.

Taka nodded, when suddenly a loud squawk echoed through the chasm.

"NO!" the squawking voice called.

Zuzu flew down and landed next to Taka.

"Taka," Zuzu said weakly, "How dare you even consider helping hyenas?"

"Stool pigeon," Kivuli growled, swatting Zuzu into a group of hyenas, "Here you go, my friends. Something to play with!"

The hyenas laughed as they carried a screeching Zuzu away. Taka showed no emotion, for he really didn't care all that much.

"Let's just get this over with," Taka groaned, before turning to the lioness cubs, "Stay safe, friends."

With that, Taka, the hyena cubs, and their hyena parents walked off to search for any way out.

"Taka," Sarafina whispered to herself, "Please be safe!"

"Taka," Sarabi said to herself, "Please don't do anything dangerous."

"Taka," Zira growled to herself, "If they harm even one hair on your head, I'll kill them!"

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Issa, Thimba, Eruvu, and Ajia arrived at the pile of bones that served as Akida's bed to see Akida sitting up and staring at Nyoni as she squawked and flapped her wings. They also noticed Mufasa trapped in a hyena's ribcage.

"Damn it!" Issa groaned, "We're too late!"

The four hyenas tried to back away before Akida noticed them, but Akida looked up at them and smiled.

"Why, hello!" Akida smiled at them, looking at the hyenas side to side, "Where's Shenzi?"

"Shenzi...is...um," Thimba mumbled.

Nyoni squawked and flapped her wings at Akida. Akida looked at the vulture and smiled.

"Oh, I see!" Akida smiled at the hyenas, "You found another hyena to watch her, and came back to offer your services!"

Nyoni winked at Issa. Issa stared at the vulture in confusion.

"Um...why, yes," Issa finally replied, "That's exactly what happened."

"Excellent!" Akida cackled, "I need you to go to the Pride Lands and tell that tyrant, Ahadi, that we have his son!"

The four hyenas looked up at Akida in shock, not believing his request. They glanced at each other and nodded, running to wards the Pride Lands.

"Do you think he knows?" Ajia asked Issa.

"I...I don't know," Issa replied.

_What the hell just happened_? Issa thought to himself.

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Kivuli led Taka and the group down a narrow path. Geysers of flame arose from each corner.

"Best to be careful, here," Kivuli advised.

"Where are we going, anyway?" Taka asked Kivuli.

"There's a small opening in the back of this chasm." Kivuli explained, "You should be able to fit through it."

"If there's an opening," Taka stated, "Why haven't you just crawled through it?"

"Because," Kivuli groaned, rolling his eyes, "If other hyenas saw me, or any other hyena, escaping from here, we'd be killed on the spot. The worst that will happen to you is that you'll end up back here."

"Oh, I see," Taka said, nodding his head, "But there's still something that confuses me."

"You talk to much!" Kimondo growled at Taka.

Kivuli swatted Kimondo away and smiled down at Taka.

"It's alright," Kivuli laughed, "I'm happy to answer any questions that the savior has! Now, what would you like to know?"

"Well," Taka replied, "It seems that Akida is your leader. But everyone here seems to hate him. Why?"

"We've all got our reasons," Kivuli replied, "Mine is that he murders in the name of my baby sister. Kimondo's reason is because Akida has never once praised him for his successes, but never hesitates to ridicule him for his failures. Jozi's reason is because Akida mated with his twin sister, and as soon as she bore him a cub, he killed her."

Jozi hung his head and weeped. Shenzi ran over to Jozi and looked up at him.

"Dad killed my mom?" Shenzi asked Jozi in shock.

Jozi nodded sadly as his remaining ear drooped. Shenzi stepped closer to Jozi.

"I can't believe it!" Shenzi growled, "Why?"

"Because, Shenzi," Jozi frowned down at the hyena cub, "Your mother did not want to name you Shenzi. She thought that it was too vulgar a name for a cub. But instead of making a compromise, he ripped out her throat."

Shenzi looked at Jozi in complete shock and held her throat as she walked.

"You see, Shenzi," Jozi explained, "Because of that, I became enraged and challenged your father. Needless to say, he bit me within an inch of my life and threw me down here."

"That's horrible!" Shenzi gasped.

"So," Taka asked Kivuli, "May I ask why you are down here?"

"Basically the same reason," Kivuli snickered, "Only I challenged Akida simply because I wanted to become Ruler of the hyenas. I could have ripped him apart in my prime!"

"You challenged Akida for something as stupid as that?" Taka asked in surprise, "But he's over twice you're size! What did you want to be ruler for anyway?"

"Like I told you," Kivuli sighed, "He's been murdering in the name of my baby sister. That's basically blaming her for all that he's done! Sauda would never have wanted any of this! She despised even the smallest form of murder!"

"So where is Sauda now?" Taka asked Kivuli out of curiosity.

"Dead," Kivuli replied with a growl, "She was killed by Ahadi."

"What?" Taka gasped, stumbling a bit.

"Ahadi killed Sauda," Kivuli reiterated.

"Why?" Taka asked, "What did she do?"

"Nothing," Kivuli growled, "She did absolutely nothing! She was falsely accused of having something to do with the murder of some lioness! She couldn't have done it! She was with me and the others. Thanks to Sauda...we were so close...so close to finally putting an end to the feud between lions and hyenas."

Taka froze. Something about Kivuli's story seemed familiar to him. He realized that it was very similar to a story his mother told him. One about a hyena invasion.

"What's up?" Kivuli asked Taka, looking around.

"It's just..." Taka replied slowly, "This seems similar to a story my mother told me. She said that when I was born, a group of hyenas came and took over the Pride Lands. She said that they wanted to live with us, and escape injustice. She also told me of a kind hyena, who did the impossible by bringing lions and hyenas together...if only for a few moments."

"That is no story, child," Kivuli replied staring at Taka, "Now that I look at you more closely, you look very familiar. What's your name, anyway?"

"My name?" Taka replied, surprised that Kivuli had bothered to ask, "My name is Taka."

"Taka.." Kivuli mused, thinking of where he had heard th name before, "Oh, now I remember! It seems like only yesterday that I had you under my claws!"

Taka looked up at Kivuli in confusion. Kivuli smiled.

"You see," Kivuli explained, "I was part of the group of hyenas who invaded the Pride Lands! As I remember, there was some lioness who was watching over you. When Jozi and his sister walked in, she attacked them. So, I took you prisoner and threatened to kill you if she did not release Jozi and his sister. You were just a baby at the time."

"What?" Taka asked in shock, "How could you?"

"Did you just expect me to stand around while she killed my friends?" Kivuli replied, "I had to do something!"

Taka sighed. He knew he could not hold what Kivuli did against him.

"So.." Taka sighed, "What was this lioness who was watching over me like?"

"Well," Kivuli began, "She had dark fur, though not as dark as yours. She actually looked a lot like one of your friends. Come to think of it, she was the lioness who Ahadi accused us of killing!"

Taka eyes widened. He suddenly realized who Kivuli was talking about.

"Sir?" Taka asked Kivuli, "Was this lioness by any chance name Zhenga?"

"Zhenga," Kivuli said thoughtfully, "Sounds about right."

Taka stopped in his tracks and sat down.

"What's wrong?" Kivuli asked Taka.

"I'm not going any further until you answer one question," Taka stated coldly.

"We'v already met all of your demands," Kivuli replied, pointing to the three hyena cubs, "What more do you want?"

"I want the truth," Taka growled, "Did you, or any other hyena, have anything to do with Zhenga's death?"

Kivuli stared at Taka and smiled widely.

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Issa and his group ran into the Pride Lands and crouched low to the ground, looking for a safe route.

"Damn," Thimba growled, "This isn't going to be easy!"

"What the hell are you doing here?" a voice from behind the hyenas growled.

The hyenas jumped in shock and turned around to see a lion and a lioness sitting in the grass.

"Oh," Issa cackled, "It's only you, Guedado!"

Guedado stared at Issa and nodded.

"Friends of yours?" Shakarri asked Guedado.

"Unfortunately," Guedado smiled at his mate, before turning back to the hyenas, "Now, why are you here? You know what my nephew will do if he finds you in his kingdom."

"Oh...well," Issa stated, "Akida sent us to tell Ahadi that we have his son, and if he wants him back in one piece, he better meet our demands!"

"WHAT?" Guedado roared at Issa, "How dare you bring a cub into this? Are you insane? Take me to Akida, NOW!"

The four hyenas nodded quickly and ran off.

"Come on, Shakarri," Guedado called to his mate, "We have to rescue my grand-nephew."

"Why would I help him?" Shakarri snorted.

"Don't think of it as helping him," Guedado smiled at his mate, giving her a lick on the cheek, "Think of it as helping me."

Sharkarri smiled and nodded before running after the hyenas with Guedado.

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"Rest assured,"Kivuli smiled at Taka, "I had nothing to do with it. In the case of another hyena...I really hope not. Is that good enough for you?"

Taka nodded and continued walking after Kivuli. As Taka passed the hyena cubs, Ed sank his fangs into Taka's backside.

"Arghoo!" Taka howled in pain.

"Aw," Kivuli smiled, turning to see Taka rubbing his rear end, "Ed like's you!"

"What's his problem, anyway?" Taka asked Kivuli.

"What do you mean?" Kivuli asked Taka in confusion.

"There must be something wrong with him," Taka replied, "That stupid laugh, his vacant expression, his obsession with biting things. Is he slow?"

"Absolutely not!" Kivuli growled in an offended tone.

"So, what's wrong with him?" Taka asked.

Ed jumped on Banzai and bit into the hyena cubs ear. Shenzi laughed as Banzai howled in pain.

"You see," Kivuli sighed, "I am a murderer. I always have been, I always will be. I've killed hundreds of my own kind just so that I could get a meal. I don't expect you to understand. It's not like you've ever killed anyone."

Taka nodded sadly. Although he knew that murder was wrong, Taka also knew that he couldn't judge Kivuli. Not after the whole stampede incident.

"Actually," Taka replied, "I do know a bit about murder."

Taka explained the stampede he caused to Kivuli. Kivuli hung on every word, as if enjoying the tale. When Taka was finished, Kivuli smiled down at him.

"That is an interesting story," Kivuli smiled, "But it is not exactly what I am talking about. You killed by accident. I killed out of need. A need for food and a need to live."

"I see," Taka replied, "But what does you being a murderer have to do with Ed's lack of...refinement."

"Simple," Kivuli replied, "I had to take Ed with me everywhere. To see his own father slaughter so many other hyenas...it must've been too much for him."

"Hmm," Taka stated, knowing that it made perfect sense, "But why did you need to take him with you? Couldn't his mother have watched him.

"No," Kivuli responded sadly, a tear slipping down his snout, "His mother died only moments after he was born."

"I'm so sorry," Taka said, regretting that he had asked the question, "Did she die of cub-birth?"

"Most likely," Kivuli said sadly, before cackling sadistically, "But I suppose me snapping her neck might have had more to do with it!"

Kivuli and Ed laughed wildly as Taka immediately vomited.

"You killed you're mate?" Taka asked in disgust, "You're despicable!"

"Oh, come now," Kivuli smiled, "Haven't you ever heard of the Circle of Life?"

"Of course I have!" Taka growled, "But I don't see what that has to do with you killing your mate!"

"It has everything to do with it!" Kivuli explained, "Do you have any idea how unfair it is to bring a baby hyena into the world? Most of them die of starvation! Well, I didn't want to see Ed suffer, but he was still just another mouth to feed. I killed my mate so that Ed may survive. A life for a life. It's an even exchange."

"But she was your mate!" Taka growled, before pointing to Ed, "And what kind of life is this for your son? One can only imagine how tortured he is on the inside. Just look at him!"

Ed merely smiled with his tongue drooping out. Shenzi and Banzai laughed.

"Anyway," Taka continued, rolling his eyes, "Why would you choose to kill your mate over a newborn cub?"

"Simple," Kivuli replied, "She was bigger than Ed. She had more meat on her bones."

"W...what?" Taka asked, not believing what he had just heard.

"Let me explain something," Kivuli smiled at Taka, "When I said I killed others for a meal, I meant that I kill others _for a meal!_"

Taka fainted. The hyenas looked at him strangely. Kivuli shrugged and picked Taka up, carrying him in his jaws. Ed laughed manically.

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Issa and his group led Guedado and Shakarri to Akida. Akida walked over to Guedado and smiled.

"Well, well, well," Akida laughed, "If it isn't Gue..."

Akida was cut off by a slash to the face from Guedado, knocking him out cold.

"Let's go!" Guedado roared, pulling the ribcage off of Mufasa and carrying the small cub off.

"Grand-uncle...Shakarri," Mufasa gasped in shock, "What are you.."

"No time!" Shakarri growled at Mufasa, "We need to find your brother and get out of here!"

"..Taka..." Mufasa said sadly, "He's probably dead by now."

"No," Issa replied, "The prisoners wouldn't kill him. I'll explain on the way."

With that, the group ran to wards the chasm as fast as they could.

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Taka woke up to find that he was being carried in Kivuli's fangs. Taka wriggled free and growled at Kivuli.

"Get away from me, you damn cannibal!" Taka growled at Kivuli.

"Oh, you're up," Kivuli said calmly, "Keep in mind that if you run, we'll kill you're friends."

Taka hung his head and groaned in frustration.

"How can you live with yourself?" Taka asked Kivuli.

"I just do," Kivuli shrugged.

"But don't you ever feel guilty?" Taka questioned Kivuli, "I mean, to have something like murder on your conscience."

"I'll admit that I do sometimes feel guilty," Kivuli responded, "But then I just think of a happy song and I feel better!"

"Huh?" Taka asked in surprise.

"Y'know!" Kivuli laughed, "A happy little ditty! Like the one about the coconuts! Then I know longer feel guilty!"

Taka just shook his head.

_This hyena is insane! _Taka thought to himself, _I'm going to just change th subject._

"What do I do when we get to the hole, anyway?" Taka asked Kivuli.

"Run home," Kivuli replied plainly.

"That's it?" Taka asked.

"Yep," Kivuli responded, "Just run home and come back when you're old enough to kill an over-sized hyena."

"How do you know that I'll come back?" Taka asked, "And if I run home, how can I get my friends back?"

"Oh, you won't be running alone," Kivuli responded, "We're expecting reinforcements any minute. They'll be able to retrieve you're friends and get them home safely. They'll also make sure that you come back when it's time."

Taka looked at the ground. This was a lot of responsibility for a cub his age.

"I have another question about Akida," Taka stated after a pause.

"Go on," Kivuli smiled.

"The reason that I would be able to get out safely is because all the hyenas, even those who are not imprisoned, hate Akida, right? And wouldn't do anything to help him unless he was watching?" Taka asked.

"Correct," Kivuli stated.

"So," Taka continued, "Why can't you just kill Akida?"

"I already told you," Kivuli groaned, "We've already tried and.."

"No," Taka interrupted, "That's not what I meant. You all took him on alone. Alone you're no match for Akida. But together...you could end his rule."

"What are you talking about?" Kivuli asked Taka in confusion.

"Well, you all hate him," Taka replied, "You could all take him down together. With enough of you working together, any tyrant can be overthrown!"

Kivuli thought this over. The idea of working together had never occurred to him. He looked forward after feeling sunlight hit his face. They had arrived at the hole.

"Now, Kivuli sighed, "We wait."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kivuli and the group did not have to wait long, for the reinforcements arrived quickly. Taka looked up and saw his grand-uncle with Mufasa in his mouth.

"Mufasa!" Taka shouted with joy, running out through the hole.

Mufasa jumped out of Guedado's mouth and embraced his brother.

"Good," Issa said, "We've got the cub. Now let's just get the others and.."

Issa was cut off by Shakarri, who knocked him out with her claws.

"What is the meaning of this?" Thimba asked in shock.

Shakarri knocked Thimba out with a paw-strike to his back, and repeated the process on Ajia and Eruvu.

"What's going on?" Kivuli asked nervously.

"Change of plans," Guedado smiled.

Taka stared in shock as his grand-uncle pounced at the hyenas and knocked them against the wall. Fortunately, the hyena cubs managed to find shelter behind a rock, out of Guedado's sight.

"Guedado," Taka gasped, "They were helping you!"

"I know," Guedado replied, "But I've found you and your brother, I don't need them anymore! Now let's go!"

Guedado picked up Taka as Shakarri picked up Mufasa. They ran off to wards the Pride Lands.

"Please, Grand-uncle!" Taka begged, "If we don't turn back, they'll kill my friends!"

Guedado and Shakarri ignored them and kept running.

_Those bastards! _Taka thought to himself,_ Thanks to them, all my friends will die! Sarafina, Sarabi...Zira. I'll never see any of them again!_

_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Nyoni landed next to Akida and squawked. Akida opened one eye and got up slowly. The large hyena limped forward, staring to wards the sky.

"Sauda," Akida growled to himself, "They shall pay severely!"

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_Read and review. Please! _


	10. Dreams and Schemes

_Hello again! Time for another installment of Of Kings and Trash. Hope you enjoy! Forgive my errors(And there will be a lot!). Review, please. Kumi, Kitimiri, Faraji, Jengo, and Rahidi are my characters and are not to be used without my permission. One part of this chapter may be a little unrealistic, but I don't think that it is too far-fetched for the Lion King.  
_

_-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Dreams and Schemes

Ahadi walked to the edge of Pride Rock and paced back and forth, awaiting Zuzu's report.

"Where is that damn horn-bill?" Ahadi growled, "She should have been here ours ago! I swear, If she's not here soon, I'm going to start looking for a replacement!"

"Something wrong, sire?" said a voice from behind Ahadi.

Ahadi turned to see a small blue horn-bill. For a moment, Ahadi believed it to be Zuzu. However, upon closer inspection, Ahadi realized that this horn-bill was a male.

"Who are you?" Ahadi asked the horn-bill, "I've never seen you around the Pride Lands."

The horn-bill flapped its wings and smiled.

"I am Kumi," the horn-bill said formally, "I have been in the Pride Lands for a few hours, now."

"Without my permission," Ahadi added with a growl.

"Yes..." Kumi said sheepishly, "Well, that is why I am here. I would like to live in your Pride Lands."

"Hmm," Ahadi replied, no longer paying attention to Kumi.

"Please, sire," Kumi begged, "Their must be something I can do to earn my stay!"

"Oh, of course," Ahadi sighed, "You may stay."

"Thank you, sire!" Kumi exclaimed, bowing to Ahadi, "How can I repay you?"

"Well," Ahadi said after a pause, "I suppose there is one thing you can do. I need you to fly around and observe the Pride Lands. If you see any trouble, come back here and report it to me."

"As you wish, sire!" Kumi replied with a salute, before flying off to look for trouble in the Pridelands.

"Well, Zuzu," Ahadi smiled to himself, "Look's like I've found your replacement!"

-------------------------------------------

Guedado and Shakarri continued running with the cubs in their mouths. They turned a corner and began climbing a wall of boulders.

"Where are you taking us?" Mufasa asked, "The Pride Lands are the other way."

Once they had climbed to the top, Guedado and Shakarri gently placed the cubs down next to them.

"The hyenas will be expecting us to go back home," Guedado explained, "If we go near the Pride Lands, we might be walking into a trap. It is best to just stay up here for now, and hope we're not spotted. We've got a good view of the border from up here. We'll head for home once we're sure that it's clear."

"Wow!" Mufasa said, staring at Guedado in awe, "You've thought of everything!"

"You could say that!" Guedado laughed, glancing at Shakarri.

Sharkarri returned the laugh and nodded.

"I fail to see what is so hilarious about this!" Taka growled at the two adults, "We're trapped here because of you!"

"Whatever do you mean?" Guedado asked with a smile.

"If it wasn't for you attacking the hyenas," Taka growled louder, "We would already be safe at home by now, You bastard!"

"Now, now," Guedado laughed calmly, "Is that any way to speak to your elders? Thanks to me, you and your brother are safe from those awful hyenas."

"Thanks to you," Taka snarled, "The hyenas will kill my friends!"

"So, we'll lose a few cubs," Guedado laughed, "They were of no use to the kingdom! You and your brother are the sons of the king! You are the necessary ones!"

"YOU BASTARD!" Taka roared at Guedado, baring his teeth and claws.

Shakarri stuck the back of Taka's head with her claws, knocking the young cub unconcious.

"Hey!" Mufasa growled at Shakarri, "What do you think you're do..."

Mufasa was cut off by Guedado, who dug a claw into Mufasa's shoulder and dragged it upward. Mufasa held his shoulder and rolled around in pain. Guedado smiled down at the two cubs and lifted his paw over them. Suddenly, a large bird swooped down and struck Guedado's paw with its beak.

"Argh!" Guedado groaned in pain, looking around to see what had hit him.

Guedado and Shakarri looked up to see a vulture circling them.

"Damn!" Shakarri growled, "It's Nyoni! Akida must be close by!"

"We've gotta get out of here!" Guedado muttered, nursing his injured paw.

Shakarri and Guedado picked up a pain-ridden Mufasa and an unconcious Taka and ran down the wall of boulders to find a better hiding spot.

------------------------------------------------------------

Ahadi paced back and forth, awaiting any news from Kumi. Uru appeared in front of Ahadi and ran to his side.

"My, you look tense!" Uru smiled at Ahadi, "Is something the matter? Anything I can do?"

"No, I'm fine," Ahadi stated with a sigh, "It's just that Zuzu didn't give me any report this morning. I had to ask another horn-bill to do her job."

"Oh my!" Uru gasped in mock-surprise, "You actually asked someone to do something? Are you sure that you didn't just command the horn-bill to survey the land?"

"Uru," Ahadi smiled at his mate, "I'm in no mood for your humor right now."

"Fine," Uru replied, grooming herself with her paw, "Oh, and by the way...Zuzu didn't report to you this morning because I sent her on an errand."

"You did what?" Ahadi asked in shock.

"I sent Zuzu on an errand," Uru reitterated, "She's with our sons and their friends in the gorge."

"You took her away from her royal duties so she could baby-sit?" Ahadi asked with a growl.

"What was I suppose to do?" Uru smiled at Ahadi, "The cubs wanted to play in the gorge. I couldn't just send them out there alone."

"Why couldn't you take them?" Ahadi asked, trying to calm himself down.

"I was tired," Uru replied with a yawn, "And I'm still tired! So, if you'll escuse me, I'm going to find somewhere quiet to take a nap."

Uru brushed against Ahadi and walked into the royal den. Ahadi suddenly caught sight of Kumi, who was flying strait to wards him. Kumi landed in front of Ahadi and bowed.

"Sire," Kumi said formally, "I've flown all around the Pride Lands, and have come across one matter that may need your attention."

"And that would be?" Ahadi asked the small horn-bill.

"There is a strange lion wandering around the Pride Lands," Kumi replied.

Ahadi stared wide-eyed at the horn-bill, not believing what he had just heard. The king extended his claws and growled.

"Show me!" Ahadi snarled at the horn-bill.

With that, Kumi led Ahadi down Pride Rock, in search of the intruder.

------------------------------------------------------

Guedado and Shakarri arrived at a dead-end and dropped the cubs.

"What about here?" Shakarri asked Guedado, pointing to a cavern that was almost completely hidden by a pile of bones.

Guedado looked around and sniffed the air.

"No sign of the flying rat," Guedado replied before staring at the cavern, "I supose it will do. Although we won't have a very good few of the border in there."

"Maybe there's another way out through the cavern," Shakarri suggested.

Guedado nodded and picked up Mufasa, who was still nursing his shoulder. Shakarri picked up Taka's unconcious body and carried it into the cavern. Guedado followed his mate. They observed their surroundings carefully, soon realizing that they were surrounded by pits of lava. Guedado and Shakarri carefully carried the cubs to a safe platform, which led to a long passageway. The two adults placed the cubs down gently and look over the edge of the platform. Below them was a gigantic pool of bubbling magma.

"Now what?" Shakarri asked her mate.

"We stay here," Guedado replied, "If trouble arises we'll head through the tunnel."

Shakarri rubbed against her mate and purred. Taka suddenly regained conciousness.

"Huh...wah?" Taka muttered, rubbing the back of his head, "What happened?"

"Oh, wonderful!" Guedado smiled at Taka, "You're awake!"

"Uh...yeah," Taka stated, surprised by his new surroundings, "What happened?"

"Shakarri knocked you out!" Mufasa growled, rubbing his shoulder.

Taka stared at his brother in shock.

"Mufy!" Taka gasped, "You're bleeding! What happened?"

Mufasa merly glanced at Guedado, who shot Taka a large smile.

"You!" Taka growled at Guedado, "How dare you attact me and my brother!"

"It was for your own good," Guedado explained, "We needed to shut you and you're brother up. You were attracting attention. Thanks to you, we need to leave our look-out point. I hope you're proud of yourselves!"

Taka and Mufasa glanced at eachother. The two brothers got up and stood next to eachother.

"Fine," Mufasa growled, "Try to justify your actions all you want. It doesn't matter one bit. Just get us back to our kingdom."

"Child," Shakarri growled at Mufasa, "The Pride Lands do not below to you! Your family has no right to to be in power! The Pride Lands should belong to my family! And I would be the queen, if it hadn't been for Faraji!"

"What?" Taka asked, having no idea what Shakarri was talking about.

"Oh," Shakarri smiled at Taka, "I see you're father has neglected to tell you the truth about the royal-line!"

"Shakarri," Guedado sighed, turning to his mate, "That happened a long time ago. You can't expect them to know anything about Faraji."

"What are you talking about?" Mufasa asked his grand-uncle, "Who's Faraji?"

Guedado sighed and turned to his grand-nephews.

"Very well," Guedado sighed, "I suppose you have the right to know the truth."

Taka and Mufasa glanced at eachother before sitting down, preparing to hear Guedado's story.

--------------------------------------------------

Kumi led Ahadi to the waterhole, where a large lion was pacing back and forth. Ahadi pounced in front of the lion and roared. The lion stepped backward and roared back at Ahadi. The two lions circled eachother.

"Who are you?" Ahadi growled at the lion, "And what are you doing in my kingdom?"

The lion sat down and cocked his head.

"Ahadi?" the lion asked in disbelief.

Ahadi circled around the lion and examined him closely.

"Jengo!" Ahadi growled at the lion, "What the hell are you doing here?"

Jengo smiled at confidentely.

"I'm here for Zhenga," Jengo replied, "I assume she's had a cub by now?"

"LEAVE!" Ahadi roared at Jengo.

"You can't keep her from me!" Jengo growled, "She is mine! Either surrender Zhenga, or die!"

Ahadi roared at Jengo again. Jengo prepared to strike, but stopped in his tracks when he noticed that he was surrounded by lionesses.

"Another time, Ahadi!" Jengo growled, before turning around and running away.

"Who was that, sire?" one of the lionesses asked.

"No one," Ahadi replied, digging his claws into the ground, "Now go back to hunting."

The lioness nodded and led her group away to search for food.

_That's strange, _Ahadi thought to himself,_ What would he want with Zhenga? Even if I wanted to, I can't give him Zhenga. It's just not possible!_

_-----------------------------------------------------------------_

"You see," Guedado explained, "The Pride Lands have only belonged to our family for a few generations."

"What?" Mufasa gasped in disbelief.

"There was once a great king," Guedado continued, "He was known as Rahidi the wise. He was powerful! He was majestic! He was beloved by all!"

Guedado paused and smiled at Shakarri. Shakarri smiled back and purred.

"Unfortunately," Guedado continued with a growl, "His reign as king was a short one."

"What happened?" Taka asked, "Did he die?"

"Yes," Guedado replied, rolling his eyes, "He was murdered by another lion, whose name was Faraji. Faraji quickly seized control of the Pride Lands. Under Faraji's rule, the Pride Lands suffered greatly. Many were striken with disease, while many more died of starvation. And Faraji just stood by and watched, laughing at his kingdom's misfortune!"

"That's horrible!" Mufasa gasped, "Why would he do such a thing?"

"Simple," Guedado replied, "Because he didn't care about his subjects. All he wanted was the power!"

Mufasa and Taka both stared open-mouthed at Guedado. Guedado smiled down at the cubs.

"Now here's the interesting part!" Guedado laughed, "Faraji craved imortality! You could say it was all he lived for! Fortunately, he failed in his search. So, he went for the next best thing to immortality. Descendents! Ones who he could mold to continue ruling the way he did! So, he found himself a mate. One who bore him three lion cubs. These three cubs grew up to lead very differant lives. Do you know what these cubs were named?"

Both cubs shook their heads.

"Well," Guedado smiled, "The oldest cub was named Mohatu!"

The two brother's eyes widened.

"I don't expect you to recognize the name of the second-born," Guedado sighed, "But none the less, he was named Kitimiri."

Guedado was right. The cubs did not recognize the name.

"And the cub who was born last," Guedado laughed, "Was named Guedado!"

Taka and Mufasa stared at Guedado in shock.

"That's right!" Guedado laughed, "Faraji was my father!"

"Wait," Mufasa said slowly, "Mohatu was the greatest king the Pride Lands has ever had. How could he be the son of such a tyrant?"

"Oh," Guedado groaned, rolling his eyes, "It's always about Mohatu! No one ever wants to know how how I turned out so good!"

Mufasa and Taka smiled at eachother. Guedado glared at them.

"Y'know what?" Guedado growled, "I don't know why Mohatu turned out the way he did! It's not like it matters! The right to rule should have gone to a descendent of Rahidi, the true king!"

Guedado turned to Shakarri and smiled.

"And what you see here," Guedado purred, brushing against Shakarri, "Is the daughter of Rahidi the wise!"

----------------------------------------------------

Uru eventually fell asleep in her den. She tossed and turned, for she was having a very strange dream. She dreamed that she was in a dark cave, surrounded by thousands of moaning lions and lionesses. One lion reached out and pulled her through the ground. Uru roared in pain as the lion dragged its claws across her back. Uru struggled to break free from the lions clutches, but it was no use. The lion was too strong. As they lion raised its claws to deliver the final blow, it was knocked to the ground by a body of light. The body of light disappeared, and in its place stood a growling lioness. The lion got back up and stared at the lioness. With one roar from the lioness, the lion morthed into a body of light and disappeared.

"Thank you," Uru gasped, addresing the lioness, "What was that thing?"

"That," the lion replied slowly, facing the direction opposite Uru, "Was Rahidi. He doesn't care for you, apparentely."

"Well," Uru smiled at the lioness, "Thank you for your help."

The lioness remained facing away from Uru, but Uru could see her nod, none the less.

"Listen," the lioness said, still facing away from Uru, "Your sons are in danger. You must rescue them."

"What?" asked Uru in surprise.

"You'll find them in a cavern in the Elephant Graveyard," the lioness continued, " There's not much time!"

Uru began to run, before turning back to the lioness.

"Who are you?" Uru asked the lioness.

The lioness turned to face Uru. Uru examined the lioness carefully.

"Zhenga!" Uru gasped, "How are you..?"

"There is no time, old friend, " Zhenga replied with a smile, "Yours are not the only cubs in danger. Now go!"

Zhenga dissapeared in an orb of light. Uru immediately woke up and ran out of her den.

_Could it have just been a dream? _Uru thought to herself,_ I can't take that chance! I must find the cubs!_

Uru ran off to wards the Elephant Graveyard, in search of the cubs.

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Ahadi turned to wards Pride Rock before noticing a ball of flame zooming across the sky.

"What is that?" Ahadi asked himself.

"Hmmm," Kumi replied, "Looks like a shooting star."

The flaming ball landed in front of Ahadi and Kumi. Ahadi stared at it in shock and began stomping out the flames.

"Zuzu!" Ahadi gasped in horror, "What happened to you?"

"Hyenas..." Zuzu caughed, "...Mufasa...Taka...Akida...birdie-boiler!"

Zuzu fainted. Ahadi turned to Kumi.

"Kumi," Ahadi ordered, "Get Zuzu home. I going to the Elephant Graveyard!"

Kumi nodded and pulled Zuzu onto his back. Ahadi ran to wards the the border to the Elephant Graveyard. Eventually, he ran into Uru. The king and queen ran side by side and conversed.

"Uru?" Ahadi asked his mate, "What are you doing out here?"

"Something tells me that the cubs are out here," Uru replied, "I'm going to check it out! What are you doing here?"

"A have the same feeling!" Ahadi growled.

Uru nodded. The two mates continued running, desperate to find the cubs before anything horrible happened.

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Shakarri smiled down at Mufasa and Taka, making sure to show all her teeth.

"Oh, I see!" Taka declared, "That's why you hate our family!"

"That," Shakarri nodded, "And your mother killing my daughter."

"She had nothing to do with that!" Mufasa growled.

"Prove it!" Shakarri snarled at Mufasa.

Mufasa remained silent.

"Just as I thought!" Shakarri laughed, "You have no proof! I should rip your throat out right now!"

Guedado suddenly dropped his jaw and smiled.

"Shakarri!" Guedado gasped, "Do you know what I just realized? There's no one else here!"

"I thought that was the point," Shakarri said plainly, "We are in hiding after all."

"No," Guedado smiled, winking at Shakarri, "I mean...there...is..no...one...else...here!"

Shakarri stared at her mate in confusion. Guedado extended his claws and tilted his head to wards the cubs. Shakarri suddenly realized what Guedado was trying to tell her.

"Oh," Shakarri laughed, baring her teeth at the cubs, "Finally!"

Shakarri walked leaped next to Guedado. The two bared their teeth at the cubs and slowly stepped forward.

"Wha...what's going on?" Mufasa asked nervously.

Guedado and Shakarri laughed and continued walking to wards the cubs.

"Isn't it obvious?" Shakarri laughed coldly, "We're going to kill you!"

Taka and Mufasa's eyes widened. The two brothers got to their feet and stepped backward."

"Come now," Taka laughed nervously, he and Mufasa backing into the tunnel, "Why would you want to do that? You went to all that trouble just to save us!"

"Couldn't let the hyenas have the honor of ending your lives!" Guedado laughed.

"Please," Taka begged, "What would killing us possibly accomplish?"

"Simple," Guedado sneered, "I'd be eliminating the competition!"

Taka and Mufasa glanced at eachother in fear. With every step they took backward, Guedado and Shakarri took a step forward.

"You see," Guedado laughed, "With you out of the way, I'll be next in line for the thrown! Then all I'll have to do is murder your daddy!"

"B..but," Mufasa said sheepishly, "You said that you didn't want to be king!"

Guedado thaught for a moment and smiled.

"No," Guedado replied, "I just said that I was not the rightful king. But I will be! And Shakarri shall be my queen! Finally, justice will be served when a descendent of Rahidi returns to the thrown! And it all begins with me killing you, right here and now! Nobody would suspect me! They'd just assume that you were killed by hyenas!"

"Why?" Taka asked, "Why are you doing this?"

"Taka, Taka, Taka," Guedado laughed shaking his head, "Trust me. If it weren't for me killing you, you'd eventually do the same. Although, you might have been smart enough to do it sooner!"

"What are you talking about?" Taka asked in shock.

"Imagine," Guedado smiled, "Imagine having to live in you're brother's shadow your whole life, you're only comfort being that you have a chance of becoming king. Now, imagine you're brother becomes the father of a new heir, shattering all you're dreams of becoming king! It's just not fair! So, of course, you do anything in your power to make your dream a reality. Even murdering you're loved ones!"

"No," Taka gasped, "I would never do something like that! I'm not like you!"

"Maybe you're right!" Guedado laughed, "Too bad we'll never know!"

"No!" Taka growled, tears forming in his eyes.

Guedado smiled, enjoying Taka's despair.

"You know, Taka," Guedado laughed, "You're the spitting image of my father! And that's not where the simularities end, you murderer!"

Taka's eyes widened as more tears flowed from them.

"What are you talking about!" Mufasa growled, "Taka is not a murderer!"

"Oh," Guedado laughed, "I see you haven't told you're own brother! Taka, you truly are disgraceful!"

"Now, I'm curious," Shakarri smiled at her mate, "What exactly are you talking about?"

"Simple," Guedado laughed, "Do you remember the stampede? The one that claimed almost half of the kingdom? Well, I turns out it was started by this little piece of trash!"

Mufasa stared at Taka in shock. Taka began to sob uncontrolably.

"Shut up!" Taka snarled at Guedado, "Just shut up, you bastard!"

"Oh, this is rich!" Guedado laughed, "The murderer just called me a bastard!"

"I'm not a murderer!" Taka snarled through his tears.

"Murderer!" Guedado laughed.

"SHUT UP!" Taka roared.

"Murderer!" Shakarri joined in, laughing at Taka's pain.

"NO!" Taka wailed, covering his head and trembling.

The two cubs backed into a wall. They were trapped. Guedado and Shakarri prepared to pounce.

"Goodbye forever!" Guedado laughed coldly.

"Finally, Zhenga!" Shakarri screamed to wards the roof, "Justice will be served!"

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_read and review. Please. I need to know what you think._


	11. Hatred and Hatari

_Well, here it is. The final chapter of my story. Don't worry. As I stated in an earlier chapter, I'm planning on making plenty of sequels. Thanks to all of you who have given Jagabor a chance.Rahidi is my character(I know I've used the name before, but as you'll see in later stories, there are multiple Rahidi), and is not to be used without my permission. Forgive typos. Most of all, enjoy!(And Review!)  
_

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Hatred and Hatari

Taka and Mufasa pressed up against the tunnel wall, frozen with fear. Guedado and Shakarri crouched lower, baring their teeth and growling at the young cubs. Suddenly, a loud roar came from behind them. Guedado and Shakarri turned to see that they were not alone after all. A lion and his mate stood behind them. Guedado and Shakarri stared at the two visitors, quaking with fear.

"Dad!" Mufasa exclaimed happily.

"Mother!" Taka gasped with relief.

"Oh...Ahadi," Guedado laughed nervously, "When did you get here?"

Ahadi merely roared and charged at Guedado. Guedado backed up slightly and looked around. Out of the corner of his eye, Guedado saw a small beam of light coming from the tunnel ceiling. The old lion stood on his hind legs and clawed at the source of the light desperately, managing to open a large hole in the ceiling. Guedado jumped up and squeezed through the hole, allowing him to escape Ahadi.

"Uru," Ahadi called to his mate, "I'm going after my uncle. You get our cubs to safety."

Uru nodded as Ahadi jumped through the opening to pursue Guedado.

"Guedado!" Shakarri called, concerned for her mate.

Shakarri attempted to jump through the hole to assist Guedado, but Uru caught her in mid-air, knocking her into the left wall of the tunnel. Shakarri got up slowly and roared at Uru. Uru roared back. Shakarri glared at Uru and laughed.

"Uru!" Shakarri cackled, advancing to wards the queen, "It will be my pleasure to send you to hell!"

"I'm giving you one chance, Shakarri," Uru growled, "One chance to leave forever and keep your life!"

"I'm not going anywhere!" Shakarri laughed, "Not when I have the chance to extract vengeance for all that you have done!"

"I've done nothing wrong!" Uru roared, leaping between Shakarri and her cubs.

"Oh, you haven't?" Shakarri laughed, "I could have sworn that destroyed all my hopes and dreams!"

"What are you talking about?" Uru asked in confusion.

Shakarri paced around and laughed, baring her teeth at Uru.

"Oh, where to begin!" Shakarri exclaimed, giving a crazed laugh.

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Guedado ran as fast as he could, his nephew gaining on him quickly. All Guedado had on his mind was escaping Ahadi's wrath. Deep down, Guedado knew that he did not stand a chance against Ahadi. Soon, Guedado reached the pile of boulders that he had used to avoid being seen by hyenas. These same boulders would help him again. Guedado extended his claws and climbed the wall of boulders as fast as he could. Ahadi soon reached the wall and looked around. After Ahadi spotted Guedado, he leaped forward and climbed after the old lion. Guedado reached the top, but knew that from his position, there was no escape. There was no time to climb down the other side of the wall. He was left with two options. Either stay where he was and face his nephew, or jump to his death. Fortunately for Guedado, a third option soon came.

"Ahadi," Guedado called down to the king, "My favorite nephew! Surely you wouldn't cause harm to your dear old uncle!"

Ahadi roared and climbed higher, becoming closer to Guedado.

_Keep coming, fool! _Guedado thought to himself.

"Please," Guedado called innocently, "Think of all the good times we've had! Remember the time we caught that fish?"

Ahadi roared louder and continued climbing.

_Almost there! _Guedado thought to himself.

"Isn't there anything I can do to make this up to you?" Guedado smiled, "I know! I can show you fifty things that you can do with a lioness!"

Ahadi roared even louder and climbed more quickly.

_Come on...just a bit closer! _Guedado thought to himself, his muscles becoming tense.

Ahadi finally was where Guedado wanted him; with half of his body slumped at the top of the wall. Guedado quickly shoved a boulder at Ahadi, forcing the king off of the wall. Ahadi let out a loud roar before hitting the ground below with a loud thud. The king lay still on the ground. Guedado let out a triumphant laugh, before noticing Ahadi twitch slightly.

"Damn it!" Guedado growled, "He's alive!"

Guedado suddenly got another idea. He slowly climbed down the other side of the wall. Once he was half way down, Guedado slashed at one of the boulders, forcing it out of place. He then jumped down and ran a short distance, turning around to see the wall of boulders collapse. Guedado smiled with relief.

"Well," Guedado snickered, "That takes care of that!"

Suddenly, a sound came from behind Guedado. It was a loud voice.

"Ahem," the voice cleared it's throat.

Guedado turned to see a large lion sitting behind him.

"Oh," Guedado said with surprise, "Didn't expect you to be here, Jengo."

"I could say the same to you," Jengo growled at Guedado, "What the hell are you doing so close to the Pride Lands? You're not planning on taking it over by yourself, are you?"

"N...no," Guedado gulped nervously.

"Good!" Jengo smiled, "Because if you were, it would make _him _very upset!"

Guedado nodded, knowing all too well who Jengo was talking about.

"So what are you doing here?" Jengo asked, suspicious of Guedado's presence.

"Me?" Guedado replied, thinking as fast as he could, "I just came to say hello to an old mate."

"Really? Which one?" Jengo asked with a laugh.

"Shakarri," Guedado replied, "I came to see Shakarri."

"Shakarri, huh?" Jengo said thoughtfully, "What makes this Shakarri so special that you'd want to visit her? I mean, you've had plenty of mates in your lifetime."

"None like her," Guedado sighed.

"Any cubs?" Jengo asked, "With Shakarri, I mean. I already know about the cubs you've had with other lionesses."

"No," Guedado replied, seeming hurt by the question, "Not with her."

"Sorry," Jengo apologized, "I just thought that since you've had at least three cubs with every other lioness you met..."

"Yeah," Guedado sighed, before shaking his head, "Hey, wait a minute! What are you doing here?"

Jengo froze at the question.

"Well?" Guedado asked, "I told you my purpose here. The least you can do is tell me yours."

"Very well," Jengo sighed, "If you must know, I'm looking for a lioness who was promised to me. I hear that she lives in the Pride Lands. Unfortunately, that son of a bitch, Ahadi, won't let me have her!"

Guedado looked over at the pile of boulders and smiled.

"Somehow," Guedado chuckled, "I don't think Ahadi will be a problem anymore!"

Jengo stared at Guedado in confusion, before looking over at the boulder-pile. Jengo suddenly realized what Guedado meant.

"No way!" Jengo gasped with shock.

"Way!" Guedado laughed coldly, "Now, shall we go find your lioness?"

Jengo nodded and began to walk to wards the Pride Lands. Guedado followed the young lion closely.

"So," Guedado smiled, "What's this lioness's name?"

"Zhenga," Jengo replied.

Guedado stopped in his tracks and sat down.

"Jengo, wait," Guedado called to Jengo, "There is something that I should tell you."

"Yeah?" Jengo asked, turning to Guedado.

"Zhenga...," Guedado sighed, "Zhenga is dead."

Jengo stared at Guedado plainly.

"Well," Jengo sighed, showing very little emotion, "That's a shame...did you visit your mate yet?"

"Umm...yeah," Guedado replied, "As a matter of fact, I did!"

"Good," Jengo smiled, "You ready to go home?"

Guedado paused for a moment, thinking the situation over.

_Oh, Shakarri can handle herself, I suppose, _Guedado thought to himself, _She'll be fine._

"Yeah," Guedado smiled at Jengo, "Let's go home."

The two lions ran off to wards their home, neither of them regretting anything.

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Shakarri paced in front of Uru, barring her teeth at the queen and her cubs.

"Let's see," Shakarri laughed, "It's not so much what you did to me. It's more what you did to Zhenga."

"What?" Uru gasped in shock.

"If it hadn't been for you," Shakarri growled at Uru, "Zhenga would be queen!"

Uru stared at Shakarri in confusion.

"She would be queen!" Shakarri continued, "And all would be well! A descendant of Rahidi would once again have the thrown!"

_Rahidi! _Uru thought to herself, _He was the lion from my dream! The one who attacked me!_

"But," Shakarri growled, "Then you came along and stole Ahadi's heart!"

Uru backed up slightly.

"You," Shakarri sneered at the queen in disgust, "So perfect. So beloved. None of the others could see what I saw in you. You're nothing but trash!"

Taka winced. For some reason, unknown to even himself, he hated the word "trash." Uru growled and crouched low, preparing to strike.

"I'll never understand everyone's faith in you!" Shakarri growled at the queen, "No matter you did, you were always praised. Everyone believed in you. Yet, no one believed me when I told them that you killed Zhenga!"

"I didn't kill Zhenga!" Uru roared at Shakarri, "Why would I kill Zhenga? She was my best friend!"

Uru looked up thoughtfully, remembering her dream.

"She still is my best friend!" Uru added.

Shakarri cringed. Suddenly, a dark figure with a lioness cub in its mouth jumped through the hole in the tunnel's ceiling. The figure turned to Mufasa and Taka and dropped the lioness cub in front of them.

"Zira!" the two brothers exclaimed happily.

"Mufasa! TAKA!" Zira laughed, embracing Taka.

Taka smiled at Zira before looking up at the dark figure. It was the black hyena that he had encountered earlier.

"Oh," Taka said, not sounding too thrilled to see the hyena, "It's you."

Uru looked over at the hyena and growled.

"Stay away from my cubs!" Uru roared at the black hyena.

Kivuli backed away slowly. With Uru distracted, Shakarri pounced onto the queens back and sank her teeth into Uru's shoulder. Uru roared in pain and quickly shook Shakarri off of her. The two lionesses quickly become embroiled in battle, clawing and biting at each other. Kivuli stepped over to Taka and sighed.

"Do you have any idea how hard it was finding you?" Kivuli asked.

"Why?" Taka asked Kivuli, looking at Zira, who clung to Taka's chest tightly, "Why did you bring Zira? Where are the others?"

"Not to worry," Kivuli smiled, "Your friends are safe with my kin...well, your bird isn't exactly safe. But in our defense, how often do we get a chance to use the birdie-boiler? Oh, right, the cubs. Anyway, I brought this cub just to show you that our deal still stands. Sorry I couldn't bring the hyena cubs. I can't find them anywhere!"

"Taka?" Mufasa asked in confusion, "Who is this hyena?"

"Oh," Taka replied, almost ashamed, "He's one of those prisoner hyenas. His name is...?"

"Kivuli," the hyena introduced himself proudly.

"And you made a deal with him?" Mufasa asked his brother.

Taka nodded slowly. Mufasa simply stared at his brother in shock.

"Taka," Mufasa growled, "Who are you?"

"You know who I am," Taka replied.

"No, I don't," Mufasa sighed, "First you cause a stampede, then you make a deal with a hyena... what's happened to you?"

Taka paused and sighed.

"A lot more than you could understand," Taka said quietly, "A lot more than even I could understand."

Mufasa and Zira looked at Taka strangely. Kivuli scratched his ear and coughed. A loud thud was heard as Uru was knocked into a wall. Shakarri laughed coldly and pounced at Uru, knocking her into the wall again.

"The funny thing is," Shakarri laughed, continuously sending Uru into the wall, "Even though you hurt her, Zhenga remained your friend. She thought of you as a sister! She even wanted to name her cub after you!"

Zira's eyes widened.

"And no matter what I said," Shakarri laughed, finally backing off from Uru, "She remained your friend! She thought that you were the greatest lioness in the world! She respected you more than she respected her own mother! Nothing I did could change that! She was like your little puppet! And that is why it was so easy!"

"W..what was so easy?" Uru asked weakly, having no idea what Shakarri was talking about.

"Oh!" Shakarri laughed, "I see that you still remain oblivious about one thing. I can't believe that you haven't figured it out yet! Well, let me clue you in! I...killed...Zhenga!"

Everyone in the tunnel, with the exclusion of Shakarri, gave a look of shock.

"No," Uru finally said, getting to her feet, "No. You're lying!"

"Am I?" Shakarri laughed.

"You..you couldn't have killed Zhenga!" Uru said through her tears, "You were hunting when she died."

"Hunting?" Shakarri mused, giving a raspy laugh, "Oh, the zebra! I had that thing left over from breakfast! Hey, I needed some way to explain the blood on my claws!"

Uru's eyes widened.

"You see," Shakarri snickered, "When I saw her after she had given birth, I knew that it was my chance! She was weak, exhausted from labor. She was helpless! I killed her so that I could blame her death on you, in the hopes that the others would join me! But they didn't believe me!"

"You're a liar!" Uru roared at Shakarri, "LIAR!"

"Um..excuse me, Queen Uru," Kivuli interrupted, "But she's not lying."

"What?" Uru growled at the black hyena.

"She's not lying," Kivuli said more loudly, "Her laugh...I've heard that kind of laugh. It is the kind of laugh one who is proud of their kills laughs. I know...because I have made that laugh many times, myself."

Shakarri suddenly pounced on Uru, pinning her to the ground.

"Y'know, _your majesty!"_ Shakarri laughed coldly, "I wasn't lying when I blamed my daughter's death on you. I killed Zhenga out of my hatred to wards you. So, in a way, her death is all your fault!"

"NO!" Uru roared, pushing Shakarri off of her.

The two lions become embroiled in battle once again. Zira burst into tears after hearing the truth. Kivuli looked down at the cubs, and then glared at Shakarri and growled. He now knew who was responsible for Sauda's death, and the hyenas second exile from the Pride Lands. Kivuli was livid! He leaped forward and sank his teeth into the back of Shakarri's neck, as Uru clawed at Shakarri's legs. Shakarri roared in pain and shook her two opponents off. Shakarri backed up and stared at the black hyena.

"Who the hell are you?" Shakarri growled at Kivuli.

"I.." Kivuli snickered, "You know what? You look old enough to recognize my full title! I am Kivuli of the Bloody Shadows!"

Shakarri backed away in fear, shaking her head in disbelief.

"N...no," Shakarri gasped with fear, "No...you're dead! My father killed you!"

"You're father?" Kivuli laughed, "I assume your father was Rahidi? Well, not all the legends are completely true. Let's just say...Faraji had a little help!"

Shakarri immediately became enraged and charged at the black hyena, but was knocked over by Uru before Shakarri made contact. Shakarri got up slowly and backed away, looking back and forth between Uru and Kivuli. She was outnumbered, and clearly outmatched. There was only one thing to do. Run. Shakarri began to run from her two enemies, out of the tunnel. Unfortunately for her, Shakarri forgot about the lava-pit, and almost fell right in. She turned back to the tunnel to find another way out, only to see that Uru and Kivuli were close behind her. The three cubs followed the lioness and hyena closely, all of them having the desire to see how it was going to end. Shakarri was quivering, for she knew that there was no way out.

"Come, now!" Shakarri laughed nervously, "Are you two really going to kill me?"

"Yes!" Kivuli growled, stepping forward before Uru held him back with her forearm.

"No," Uru corrected, "I'm sure that even after killing her, Zhenga wouldn't want you dead."

Kivuli hung his head in shame, knowing that Sauda would not have wanted the lioness dead, either.

"Thank you, my queen!" Shakarri exclaimed.

"But," Uru continued, growling and barring her teeth, "I'm sure that she wouldn't mind if I roughed you up a bit!"

Shakarri' eyes widened.

"Oooh," Kivuli snickered at Uru happily, "I like the way you think!"

Shakarri stared in horror as Uru and Kivuli slowly stepped closer to her. She noticed Zira hiding behind Uru's leg.

"Zira!" Shakarri smiled at the cub, "Surely you wouldn't let anything happen to you're own grandmother!"

Zira's looked up at Shakarri, tears flowing down her face.

"YOU KILLED MY MOM!" Zira shrieked at Shakarri, "I HATE YOU!"

Shakarri stared at her granddaughter in shock, before glancing over her shoulder and laughing. Uru and Kivuli stepped closer.

"Good, child!" Shakarri cackled, "Nurture your hate to wards me! Use it to strike down your enemies! Never let go of your hate, Zira! NEVER!"

With that, Shakarri jumped off the side of the platform.

"Shakarri, no!" Uru yelled, running with Kivuli and the cubs to the edge of the platform.

But it was too late. Shakarri was plummeting to wards the pit of lava. Uru, Kivuli, and the cubs looked away as Shakarri let out one final laugh and made contact with the lava. All that was heard after that was Shakarri's screams of pain.

"...Crazy bitch!" Kivuli commented.

Uru nodded and turned her attention to wards the cubs.

"Are you alright?" Uru asked the cubs in concern.

The three cubs nodded, although it was clear to Uru that they were in great pain. She examined the cubs closely, noticing the incision on Mufasa's shoulder.

"Mufasa!" Uru gasped in shock, "You're bleeding!"

"Oh," Mufasa replied glancing at his shoulder, "Yeah. Guedado did that."

Uru shook her head in anger, before giving each of the cubs an affectionate lick. Uru then paused for a few seconds.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" Uru asked the cubs, "Don't you know that this place is dangerous?"

The three cubs hung their heads in shame. Kivuli glanced at them before looking up at Uru.

"It's not their fault, my queen," Kivuli stated, "They were taken by Akida and held prisoner here."

Uru stared at the hyena strangely, though perhaps not as strangely as the cubs stared at him. Uru finally nodded.

"Sounds reasonable," Uru nodded, turning to the cubs, "The important thing is that everyone is okay. Now, let's go home."

The cubs began to follow Uru to the hole in the tunnel ceiling.

"Wait," Kivuli sighed, shaking his head, "It's not safe to go to the Pride Lands yet. Akida is still out there. I was just lucky enough to not run into him."

Uru looked at Kivuli and nodded.

"So," Uru started, "Where should we go? We can't just stay here."

"I'd think the best thing to do would be to go back to the prison-den," Kivuli stated, glancing down at Taka, "The other cubs are there."

"_Other _cubs?" Uru asked in disbelief, "Show me."

Kivuli nodded and picked up Zira. Uru picked up Mufasa and Taka. The two jumped through the hole and ran to wards the prison-den with the cubs in their mouths.

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Uru and Kivuli arrived at the entrance of the prison-den and placed the cubs on the ground. They looked inside, surprised to see that the den was completely empty.

"What?" Kivuli gasped in disbelief, "Where are the..."

"Hey, there he is!" a voice from behind shouted.

Kivuli, Uru, and the cubs turned to see hundreds of hyenas heading strait for them. Kivuli prepared to fight, before spotting his friends in the front. The hyenas stopped in front of Kivuli.

"What are you doing above ground?" the black hyena asked his friends, "If Akida sees you.."

"You're not gonna believe it, Kivuli," Issa exclaimed, "Akida is gone forever!"

"What?" Kivuli gasped in disbelief, "Are you sure?"

"Yep," Thimba stated.

"And we owe it all to these three!" Eruvu said happily, pointing to Banzai, Shenzi, and Ed.

Ed and Shenzi sat proudly in front of Jozi, while Banzai was unconscious in Kimondo's teeth. Kivuli looked at the three cubs in disbelief, before smiling down at them.

"Well done, whatever you did," Kivuli smiled at the cubs, before staring at Banzai, "What happened to him, Kimondo? Was he attacked by Akida?"

Kimondo placed Banzai on the ground and smiled.

"No," Kimondo chuckled, "He saved Shenzi from death, so she gave him a lick on the cheek. After that, he just collapsed!"

The army of hyenas cackled, Shenzi, and of course Ed, included. Banzai woke up and looked around.

"Huh?" Banzai said weakly, "What's going on?"

"Oh, my son!" Kimondo smiled proudly, "You're awake! You've done so well! I'm very proud of you!"

Banzai stared at his father in disbelief, before fainting again. The hyenas cackled once more. Jozi stepped over to Taka.

"They were inspired by you, young cub," Jozi smiled at Taka, "And your idea about teamwork... thanks to you, we are free from Akida's tyranny!"

"Where are my friends?" Taka growled at Jozi.

"Oh...quite right," Jozi stated, calling over a group of hyenas who placed Sarafina and Sarabi in front of Taka.

The cubs embraced each other, happy to finally be reunited. Ed ran over to Kivuli and smiled with his tongue hanging out. Kivuli looked down at his son and smiled back

"You should be very proud of Ed," Issa stated, "He was very brave."

"I am proud of him," Kivuli replied, "He's the perfect son."

Ed smiled and bit into his father's leg. Kivuli resisted the urge to whack him off.

Jozi looked down at Shenzi, who looked a bit upset.

"Is something wrong, Shenzi?" Jozi asked his niece, "You should be happy. You helped rid us of Akida."

"Akida was my dad," Shenzi replied, "But he got what he deserved. It's just...now I have nobody to look after me."

"Shenzi," Jozi laughed, "We are hyenas! We look after each other! You needn't worry."

Shenzi smiled slightly at Jozi.

"You shall stay with me," Jozi stated to Shenzi.

"Really?" Shenzi asked happily, "You'd let me stay with you?"

"I won't take no for an answer!" Jozi smiled, "I don't have much, but you're welcome to whatever I do have."

Shenzi embraced her uncle. Suddenly, Ajia remembered something.

"My queen?" Ajia addressed Uru.

Uru looked down at Ajia, who beckoned over a group of hyenas. The hyenas were carrying the body of a large lion.

"Ahadi!" Uru exclaimed in shock, running over to the body of her mate and staring at the hyenas, "What happened?"

"We found him under a pile of boulders," one of the hyenas replied, "Luckily, we were able to dig him out as quick as we could. He's not dead...but he is badly hurt. You need to get him home."

Uru looked at the army of hyenas in disbelief.

_They saved Ahadi? _Uru thought to herself, _Even after all that he's done to them, they saved his life!_

"Thank you," Uru addressed the hyenas, "Thank you for everything! I must get my mate and the cubs home now, so I bid you adieu. But know this. You're good deeds will not go unnoticed. As soon as Ahadi recovers, a new ere will dawn. And I swear to you; there will always be a home for you in the Pride Lands!"

The hyenas stared at Uru in disbelief as she walked off with Ahadi on her back, the cubs trailing close behind. The silence did not last long, as all the hyenas broke into cheers and laughter.

"Long live Queen Uru!" the hyenas chanted as Uru disappeared from view.

Nyoni landed next to Issa and sqauwked. Issa nodded, and Nyoni flew off.

"What was that about?" Kivuli asked Issa, "I thought that Nyoni was Akida's servant...the enemy."

"No," Issa smiled, shaking his head, "She was never Akida's servant...she was merely Sauda's friend. And any friend of Sauda is a friend of ours! Now, what do you say we celebrate our liberation?"

Kivuli smiled and nodded. This was indeed a time for celebration.

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Uru arrived back in the Pride Lands with Ahadi on her back and the cubs close behind. A group of lionesses ran over in shock and helped Uru carry Ahadi up to the royal den. Uru thanked them and dismissed them, telling them that she could handle it from there. The lionesses nodded and ran back down Pride Rock. Uru placed Ahadi on the den floor and smiled down at the cubs.

"Now," Uru laughed, "What were you really doing outside the borders?"

The cubs looked at Uru in surprise.

"Whatever do you mean, mother?" Taka asked innocently, "Kivuli already told you."

"Come on," Uru laughed, "I know that he was lying. Although he did a very good job of hiding it."

The cubs glanced at each other, as if thinking of a reasonable excuse. But then they decided to just tell the truth, because if they lied, Uru would most likely know.

"Well," Taka began, "I noticed the shadowy area..."

"And we wondered what was out there..." Mufasa continued.

"So we decided to find out..." Sarabi added.

"We thought that it would be kind of an exciting adventure..." Sarafina stated.

"And everything got kind of...out of hand." Zira finished.

Uru thought for a minute, and turned her attention to Mufasa.

"Didn't your father tell you what was out there?" Uru asked Mufasa.

"Well...not exactly," Mufasa replied, "He just said not to go there."

"I see," Uru sighed, "So you all went there out of curiousity?"

The cubs nodded in unison.

"Well...alright then," Uru said plainly, "Just be more careful next time."

"What?" the cubs asked in unison.

"Just be more careful next time," Uru reiterated.

"You mean you're not mad?" Mufasa asked his mother.

"No," Uru replied, "How could I be. I did _way _more dangerous things when I was a cub!"

"Really?" Sarafina asked with excitement, "Like what?"

"I'm not giving you any ideas, Sarafina!" Uru laughed.

"Rats," Sarafina groaned.

Suddenly, Kumi flew into the royal den.

"Oh, hello," Kumi said politely, "Queen Uru, I presume?"

Uru nodded.

"I am Kumi," the horn-bill said formally, "I come with news for the king."

"Ahadi?" Uru asked, pointing to her mate's unconscious body, "He's a bit...well not in any condition to receive news, anyway. You can tell me, and I'll give him the message when he wakes up."

Kumi looked at Ahadi's body and sighed.

"Well, tell him that Zuzu is fine," Kumi said, before flying off and adding, "Just some minor burns."

Uru stared in confusion as Kumi flew off, having no idea what the horn-bill was talking about. She peered outside of the den, noticing that it was getting dark.

"Well," Uru smiled at Sarafina and Sarabi, "It's getting late. I'll take you two home."

The two lioness cubs nodded and followed Uru out of the den.

"Stay here," Uru called back to the three cubs in the royal den, "Keep Ahadi company."

"Good-bye," Sarafina and Sarabi called to the other cubs in unison.

The three cubs glanced at each other before staring at Ahadi.

"Wow," Zira commented, "He doesn't look so good."

Mufasa stared at his father in concern. Taka merely shrugged.

"You think he'll be okay?" Zira asked.

"Sure he will!" Mufasa exclaimed confidently, "He's a king!"

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Uru quickly returned and began grooming her cubs. After she was done she walked over to Ahadi's body and shook it with her paw. Ahadi opened one eye slowly and groaned.

"What happened?" Ahadi said, trying and failing to get to his feet.

"You were buried in a rock-slide," Uru replied, glad to see that her mate was awake, "A group of hyenas saved your life."

Ahadi's eyes widened with surprise. Mufasa ran over to his father and embrace his father's paw.

"Dad!" Mufasa exclaimed happily, "You're alright!"

Ahadi smiled at his son, before shooting him a stern look.

"Why did you go beyond our borders?" Ahadi asked his son, slightly annoyed, "I told you to stay away from that place!"

Mufasa backed away and lowered his head.

"They were taken by Akida," Uru piped up.

"What?" Ahadi asked his mate.

"They were out playing, when Akida came and captured them," Uru explained, "It was not there choice to go out there. They were cub-napped!"

The three cubs glanced at each other and smiled.

"How do you know this?" Ahadi asked his mate in confusion.

"One of the hyenas told me," Uru replied, "They're really not as bad as they seem."

Ahadi looked at Uru in surprise.

"Uru," Ahadi said calmly, "They took you're best friend."

"No," Uru replied sadly, shaking her head, "They didn't."

Uru explained everything to Ahadi. How Shakarri had killed Zhenga, how she was aided by hyenas, even how she thought that it was time to let the hyenas into the Pride Lands.

"Absolutely not!" Ahadi growled.

"Why?" Uru asked, "The only reason you banished them is because you thought that they killed Zhenga. Now we know that they didn't. So what's the problem?"

"Uru," Ahadi growled weakly, "What good could come of it?

"Well," Uru replied thoughtfully, "If we let them stay here, they won't keep attacking the Pride Lands. And then, of course, there would be no need for them to steal our cubs again. Plus, they would make very good allies. You of all lions should be able to see that. You've fought them plenty of times."

Ahadi groaned and nodded.

"Fine," Ahadi growled, "But you are responsible for them."

"Thank you, Ahadi," Uru nodded, "Now try to get some sleep."

Uru began to run off before Ahadi called after her.

"Where are you going?" Ahadi asked.

"To get the hyenas!" Uru called back happily.

With that, Uru was gone. Ahadi grumbled and closed his eyes. The three cubs curled up together. Within moments, they where fast asleep. As Uru reached the bottom of Pride Rock, she looked up at the stars and smiled.

"Thank you, Zhenga!" Uru called to the heavens.

A cool wind blew in Uru's face, which was most likely Zhenga's way of saying "no problem."

----------------------------------------

Taka awoke later that night and looked around the royal den to see that his mother had returned. He yawned and sighed, realizing that he was thirsty.

_There is no need to wake up mother, _Taka thought to himself, _I'll just go to the waterhole by myself._

Taka stretched, slowly stumbled out of the royal den, and ran down Pride Rock to the waterhole. He looked at his reflection before taking a drink. When he had finished, he turned around to walk back to the den, only to see a pair of glowing eyes. Taka immediately became afraid and thought of running, before realizing that he had seen those same eyes before.

"Oh," Taka stated dryly, "It's you."

"You sound disappointed," Kivuli said, sounding almost hurt, "I would have thought that you'd be happy to see me. I have saved your tail on numerous accounts, after all."

Taka rolled his eyes and groaned.

"Where are the others anyway?" Taka asked the black hyena, "I thought that my mother went to get you all."

"No," Kivuli replied, shaking his head, "Your mother is smarter than that. She knew that if she brought a clan of hyenas, the whole Pride Lands would be in a panic. She brought me here because I'm not so easily seen. It's safer that way. We wouldn't want to cause another stampede, now would we?"

Taka growled at Kivuli and began to walk home.

"I'm getting the feeling that you don't like me," Kivuli stated.

"Really?" Taka asked sarcastically, "Where would you get a crazy idea like that?"

"Come on," Kivuli smiled, "We're going to be neighbors soon. Can't we be friends? Here. A peace offering."

Kivuli reached behind his back and tossed a dead hyena cub in front of Taka. Taka stared at it in shock before glaring at Kivuli in disgust.

"How could you?" Taka growled at Kivuli.

"It was picking on Ed," Kivuli said defensively, "It didn't have any parents. It was in pain. I like to think that I did it a favor!"

"You disgust me!" Taka snarled at Kivuli.

"Why is that?" Kivuli asked.

"You're a murderer!" Taka growled loudly.

Kivuli sighed and circled Taka.

"Aren't we all, kid?" Kivuli snickered, "In one way or another, we are all murderers. Think about the stampede you caused. Yes, you may have caused it. But what of those creatures who trampled there fellow animal to death? Are they not killers, too? The truth is, we are all murderers. We all do it at some point. Murder is just a natural part of life. Murder ties us all together. The sooner you accept that, the better."

"...You're wrong," Taka said after a pause, before running home.

Kivuli looked down at the dead hyena cub that lay on the ground.

"Well," Kivuli smiled, licking his lips, "If he's not gonna eat it!"

--------------------------------------------------

Taka sat outside the royal den and thought what Kivuli had told him over.

_It can't be true! _Taka thought to himself,_ ...Although it does make sense._

Taka's thoughts were interrupted by Sarafina, who pounced on him, pinning him on the ground.

"Gotcha!" Sarafina laughed.

"Sarafina!" Taka gasped with surprise, "What are you doing up?"

"I can't sleep," Sarafina replied, "What are you doing up?"

"Oh, I just needed a drink," Taka said, pushing Sarafina off of him and getting up, "Why can't you sleep?"

"Today was too exciting!" Sarafina laughed.

"...Yeah," Taka replied.

"What's wrong?" Sarafina asked the dark-furred cub, "You look upset."

"Umm.." Taka began slowly, "It's just some off the things I've seen and heard today."

Sarafina sat down and thought for a moment, before smiling at Taka.

"You know what would take you're mind off of it?" Sarafina asked.

"What?" Taka asked hopefully.

"An adventure!" Sarafina exclaimed happily.

Taka paused for a moment. He then smiled and playfully swatted at Sarafina with his paw. Sarafina ducked and ran away laughing. Taka smiled as she disappeared from view.

"That Sarafina," Taka chuckled to himself, before walking into the royal den and curling up next to Zira and Mufasa.

_I know that Kivuli is wrong! _Taka thought to himself,_ I just know it!_

With that, Taka was fast asleep, putting Kivuli out of his mind.

------------------------------------------

Guedado and Jengo arrived at their home. They were greeted by several lions.

"Welcome back," one of the lions smiled at Guedado.

"Good to be back, my son" Guedado stated.

The lions all walked to wards the dens and conversed about Guedado and Jengo's travels. A lioness walked up to Guedado with a zebra in her mouth. One of the lioness roared at her and slashed her with his paw.

"You stupid lioness!" the lion roared, "The Great Guedado prefers antelope!"

The lioness got up, nodded sadly, and ran off.

"Oh," Guedado smiled, "It's great to be home!"

"So, Jengo," one of the lions smiled, "Where have you been?"

"I went to go get Zhenga," Jengo replied plainly.

One of the lions immediately pounced at Jengo, knocking him off his feet.

"You bastard!" the lion growled, "How dare you!"

"Oh, Rahidi," Jengo laughed, "I didn't see you there!"

"Answer me!" Rahidi roared.

Jengo ran at Rahidi and knocked him over with his shoulder.

"She is mine, Rahidi," Jengo smiled, "She was promised to me! And I would have her right now, if not for you! You cheated me! You had no right to help her escape!"

"She was my mate!" Rahidi snarled, "What was I supposed to do?"

Jengo crouched over and snarled, preparing to pounce. Suddenly, everyone froze as a large lion emerged from its den. Every lion, with the exception of Guedado, bowed. Guedado looked up at the lion and smiled.

"Oh, there you are, Kitimiri!" Guedado smiled.

"Where have you been, brother?" Kitimiri growled at Guedado, "I here you were in the Pride Lands!"

"Oh..." Guedado replied nervously, "I was in the Pride Lands to visit Shakarri."

"That better be true," the massive lion snarled, "For your sake!"

Kitimiri looked down at Jengo and Rahidi, who were glaring at each other.

"What's going on here?" Kitimiri asked.

"Rahidi started it!" Jengo growled, pointing to Rahidi.

"Father," Rahidi whined at Kitimiri, "He was going after Zhenga!"

Kitimiri pounced in front of Jengo and growled.

"Is this true?" the large lion snarled at Jengo.

"W..well," Jengo said sheepishly, "Y...ye...yes."

Kitimiri roared loudly in Jengo's face. Jengo ran away as fast as he could. Kitimiri nodded at Rahidi before walking over to Guedado.

"So, how is Shakarri?" Kitimiri asked his brother.

"She.." Guedado started, "She's fine. Although I hear that her daughter is dead."

Rahidi's jaw dropped, and he hung his head in sadness.

"Well, you're home now," Kitimiri sighed, "We'll have the lionesses hunt extra-hard for a feast."

"Sounds nice," Guedado smiled.

Kitimiri nodded and led Guedado to his den.

"Soon, brother," Kitimiri smiled, "Soon we will strike. And the Pride Lands will be ours. In the name of Faraji! In the name of Rahidi!"

Guedado smiled widely as a lioness walked into the den and dropped an antelope in front of him.

"That's better!" Guedado smiled at the lioness, "Now leave!"

The lioness ran away in fear. Guedado and Kitimiri threw there heads back and laughed wildly. Soon, their time would come!"

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_Well, thanks for reading. Thank you for all your support. Thank you to all those who reviewed my story. As I said, I will have plenty of stories that follow this one, but I'm not going to right the immediate sequel until I right one or two different stories, first. Now for the love of God! Review! _


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